ADD = asset

[Daydreamin22]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/glasshee...t-distract-me/

I have found this article reassuring and enlightening. Hope you all do too.

[BellaVita]

For me, all its been is a pain in the a**.

[Corina86]

If only that were true. However, I don't have any of the special qualities listed here:
- I'm not able to multitask; doing one thing at a time is hard enough, doing several things means I never get anything done- and I tried it, btw
- I don't think I'm more creative than others; yes, I might have more ideas, but not necessarily better or to the point; it's also very difficult for me to put my creativity into practice and make my ideas work
- I wouldn't make a good boss because I'm neither self-confident, nor assertive, qualities that a leader needs imo
- I wouldn't make a good entrepreneur, because I have anxiety and I can think of a million ways everything could go wrong

Call me boring, but I work much better in a quite environment, structured by some guidelines (not strict rules, though), a non-restrictive schedule and under some supervision. I also prefer tasks that use logic and analysis, because these are my strong points. I guess we are all different though.

[Fuzzy12]

Sigh, everything that Corina said.

Except that logic and analysis are not my strong point but neither is intuition.

[Stevuke79]

I'm really conflicted when I read articles like this. On the one hand, I really want someone who is coming to grips with a Dx to read this. On the other hand, this article is really unfair to most people with ADHD.

FiWhile I wouldn't call this article "accurate" from a scientific or medical perspective, if I take my passion out of it I have to admit it's no worse than you should expect from a magazine. The symptoms they cited are all correct - and then they relate those symptoms to people who can get those symptoms WELL under control.

For instance the intern tapping his pen.
I'm going to say he has ADHD or ASD and he's overstimulated by the sounds of the AC and the the plumbing in the walls.. and he must tap his pen to avoid peeling his skin off. If the article had told it's story through the end of the meeting they would have mentioned how he started looking up at the ceiling, moving his lips, or picking his ear, and while the whole room rolls their eyes at him because they can't tell that in addition to this, he's paying close attention, his CEO says, "Hey, pay attention.".

His colleague however, the presenter with ADHD, is able to get through the meeting without picking her hair, scratching her arms, bitting her lips or moving back and forth while speaking. Good for her, but that's not most of us.

[Stevuke79]

And what's just unfair, and this part I can't even blame the article for, .. this all assumes you can sit through lectures k-12 in a traditional school environment with your ego intact.

[sarahsweets]

sorry-bunk.

[Tony72]

Stevuke, more or less what I was gonna say.

One thing though, the paying attention to everything that I keep hearing about--anyone actually have that? I really don't notice details like that. I write and want to make a living off it but not innately seeing details bothers me. I think I used too. Like reading, I used to read every single sign and sticker I came across. Now, not so much. I don't know if life just beat that out of me, but...ok, I'm going on a tangent. But the details thing. I don't see them unless specifically looking. I'm usually just in my head and oblivious to the outside world. I know I'm not alone in that, but I'm curious how prevalent the other side of the coin is.

[Tulip7171]

I don't really like articles like this. While it brings attention to the disorder, it downplays how debilitating it can be for people.

I think it re-enforces the idea that we are just being lazy or not trying hard enough to NTers.

"See these people have ADD & are successfully running their own companies! Why can't you remember to save that file after updating it?!"


Needed to add:

I bet they eat cheese sandwiches & M&Ms for every meal & there's so much crap in their cars they can barely fit in themselves & their purses! lol

[AshT]

Originally Posted by Corina86

If only that were true. However, I don't have any of the special qualities listed here:
- I'm not able to multitask; doing one thing at a time is hard enough, doing several things means I never get anything done- and I tried it, btw
- I don't think I'm more creative than others; yes, I might have more ideas, but not necessarily better or to the point; it's also very difficult for me to put my creativity into practice and make my ideas work
- I wouldn't make a good boss because I'm neither self-confident, nor assertive, qualities that a leader needs imo
- I wouldn't make a good entrepreneur, because I have anxiety and I can think of a million ways everything could go wrong

Call me boring, but I work much better in a quite environment, structured by some guidelines (not strict rules, though), a non-restrictive schedule and under some supervision. I also prefer tasks that use logic and analysis, because these are my strong points. I guess we are all different though.

Most of those don't really seem adhd related negatives. If the reason for not being a good leader is due to confidence, you can work on that. But what does that have to do with ADHD hindering you? Likewise for the anxiety issues, surely those are issues all people with anxiety would have?

Originally Posted by Tulip7171

I don't really like articles like this. While it brings attention to the disorder, it downplays how debilitating it can be for people.

I think it re-enforces the idea that we are just being lazy or not trying hard enough to NTers.

"See these people have ADD & are successfully running their own companies! Why can't you remember to save that file after updating it?!"


Needed to add:

I bet they eat cheese sandwiches & M&Ms for every meal & there's so much crap in their cars they can barely fit in themselves & their purses! lol

The whole point of the article is to express positives of ADHD. Not to show how debilitating it is, or give a balanced argument.

Whenever there's an article on the negatives and strong impact of ADHD, you never hear such an uproar about such an unbiased portrayal, that 'no positives of adhd are shown'. Are we wanting every single positive adhd article to make sure they express all the negatives too but not the vice versa?

Why do I never hear people with Aspergers complaining about positive articles written about their condition?

I think it re-enforces the idea that we are just being lazy or not trying hard enough to NTers.

How so?

Also, i'd just like to add I have no opinion whatsoever of this article, am neither for or against.

[silivrentoliel]

Originally Posted by AshT

Whenever there's an article on the negatives and strong impact of ADHD, you never hear such an uproar about such an unbiased portrayal, that 'no positives of adhd are shown'. Are we wanting every single positive adhd article to make sure they express all the negatives too but not the vice versa?

That's because, to most of us with severe ADHD, there are no positives.

I have to admit, I only read to the part about the lady with the puppies (she worked at some service dog something or other)... I'm jealous. I can do tons of things at once, but I'm crap at remembering any long term project- unless the deadline is looming...

And yeah, maybe I do think outside the box- to NTs - but it's not outside to the box to me... it just makes the most sense.

I do, however, have a good intuition. I didn't see that mentioned in there, but Fuzzy said something about it.

I get they are trying to say it's not all bad... but they are painting it to look like everyone with ADHD can perform so well... and not everyone can.

[AshT]

Originally Posted by silivrentoliel

That's because, to most of us with severe ADHD, there are no positives.

I have to admit, I only read to the part about the lady with the puppies (she worked at some service dog something or other)... I'm jealous. I can do tons of things at once, but I'm crap at remembering any long term project- unless the deadline is looming...

And yeah, maybe I do think outside the box- to NTs - but it's not outside to the box to me... it just makes the most sense.

I do, however, have a good intuition. I didn't see that mentioned in there, but Fuzzy said something about it.

I get they are trying to say it's not all bad... but they are painting it to look like everyone with ADHD can perform so well... and not everyone can.

Yes, but just because you believe there are no positives.

Why must we just on the back of other people with different views? Just because they want to think positively about their condition, who is anyone else to interfere with that? And the vice versa also applies.

And in terms of there being NO POSITIVES. People with lesser memory, cognitively have better reasoning skills. This applies for both ADHD and Dyslexics. I'll try and find the paper for you to post the evidence.

But if, for example a student takes exams that are memory based, they'll fail and adhd is a negative. If they take exams which require reasoning skills, they'll be more likely to do better than their peers and it's a positive.

When I realized this, I looked at my exam papers from last year and saw 3 A's and 3 Fails. All or nothing which is very adhd-like.

And the exams I got all A's? Required much less memory, it was problem solving and it was fun. But ADHD or not, every single person on this planet has positives and negatives, we just need to find what works for us.

If someone with ADHD ends up in prison, jail with a life sentence I can certainly see why it's a negative. But it's a negative for them. If a person with severe ADHD has succeeded in the business sector and found that their hyper-focus allowed them to work 16 hours a day and gain promotions quickly, then it's been a positive for them.

What I don't get is this need to categorize entire populations based on certain factors. And then turn around and say 'Oh, you only succeeded because your adhd is less severe'.

We are ALL individual, we have all had individual lives, we have all been affected by different factors, we have all learnt different wisdom from our own experiences. So why, why, why, enforce our views from an entirely different perspective and learning, onto other people?

Why don't we look at this and actually just say 'You know what, maybe there is no right or wrong answer'.

[Corina86]

Originally Posted by AshT

Most of those don't really seem adhd related negatives. If the reason for not being a good leader is due to confidence, you can work on that. But what does that have to do with ADHD hindering you? Likewise for the anxiety issues, surely those are issues all people with anxiety would have?

The whole point of the article is to express positives of ADHD. Not to show how debilitating it is, or give a balanced argument.

Whenever there's an article on the negatives and strong impact of ADHD, you never hear such an uproar about such an unbiased portrayal, that 'no positives of adhd are shown'. Are we wanting every single positive adhd article to make sure they express all the negatives too but not the vice versa?

Why do I never hear people with Aspergers complaining about positive articles written about their condition?

How so?

Also, i'd just like to add I have no opinion whatsoever of this article, am neither for or against.

My point wasn't to express why ADHD is hindering me, but to show that, unfortunately, all of the positives listed in this article aren't true at all for me. I do have other qualities though, some of them very important, things that aren't all related to ADHD, just not the ones mentioned in that story. I dislike the article because it tries to change a disorder into a positive stereotype, kind of like saying all Aspergers are geniuses with great memories, when the fact is, most of them aren't.

[AshT]

Originally Posted by Corina86

My point wasn't to express why ADHD is hindering me, but to show that, unfortunately, all of the positives listed in this article aren't true at all for me. I do have other qualities though, some of them very important, things that aren't all related to ADHD, just not the ones mentioned in that story. I dislike the article because it tries to change a disorder into a positive stereotype, kind of like saying all Aspergers are geniuses with great memories, when the fact is, most of them aren't.

Fair enough .

Also, I'm pretty sure that's not true and although not ALL people with Aspergers have high IQ's, a large portion do.

The NAS website states that those with Aspergers 'Have average or above IQ's' and all talks on AS i've been too have expressed the high proportion of people with AS who have high IQ's.

[Lunacie]

Originally Posted by AshT

Most of those don't really seem adhd related negatives. If the reason for not being a good leader is due to confidence, you can work on that. But what does that have to do with ADHD hindering you? Likewise for the anxiety issues, surely those are issues all people with anxiety would have?




The whole point of the article is to express positives of ADHD. Not to show how debilitating it is, or give a balanced argument.

Whenever there's an article on the negatives and strong impact of ADHD, you never hear such an uproar about such an unbiased portrayal, that 'no positives of adhd are shown'. Are we wanting every single positive adhd article to make sure they express all the negatives too but not the vice versa?

Why do I never hear people with Aspergers complaining about positive articles written about their condition?


How so?

Also, i'd just like to add I have no opinion whatsoever of this article, am neither for or against.

I haven't seen very many articles written about the positive benefits of
having Asperger's.

I think Asperger's and Autism are accepted by the masses as being real
disorders, whereas ADHD is often seen as being "a made-up condition
by big pharma" or "an excuse for lazy parents to manage their children."

I haven't read the article in the link, but from some of the responses I'd
say it presents ADHD as being a real disorder, but downplays the amount
of impairment it causes.

I very much agree with Dr. Barkley's statement that when people with
ADHD succeed, they do so in spite of their disorder, not because of it.
.