If you have ADD, Welcome Aboard! I am blessed with ADD
and enjoy every minute of it.
Approximately three to six percent of the American
population is believed to have ADD. ADD stands for
“Attention Deficit Disorder.”
My belief is that ADD is misnamed. Instead, it should be
named "Attention Expansion Advantage" (AEA). People with
AEA/ADD have certain mental and physical characteristics
that give them distinct advantages. These same
characteristics also present several drawbacks. I believe
the condition was named by focusing on the drawbacks and
completely overlooks the advantages. AEA/ADD people are
not normal. They can rarely be controlled. Thus, normal
(non-ADD) people have labeled ADD people with the
"Disorder" tag. The term "Disorder" being defined by The
American Heritage Dictionary as a "disturbance of the
normal physical or mental health."
People with AEA/ADD are very special.
AEA/ADD people can and do perform remarkable things,
when they understand their advantages and utilize them,
and understand the drawbacks and overcome them. For
example, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, John F. Kennedy,
John Lennon, Henry Ford, Mozart, Galileo, and Winston
Churchill, were believed to have AEA/ADD. Terry Bradshaw,
Robin Williams, Magic Johnson, Henry Winkler, and
Mohammed Ali are also believed to have it. (The author
personally conversed with Mohammed Ali for three hours
and was privileged to see how special his mind worked.)
They were and still are very special people BECAUSE they
have AEA/ADD.
Physical characteristics of AEA/ADD.
People with AEA/ADD do not have the filters normal people
have that restrict the volume and capacity of the brain to
receive input from the five basic senses. Smell, Sight,
Touch, Hearing, and Taste. AEA/ADD people hear, taste,
smell, feel, and see things that normal people do not. It can
be said that ADD/AEA people do not have an attention
deficit. Instead, their attention is expanded, because
AEA/ADD people are far more attuned to their surroundings.
They receive and process much more information through
the five senses. As an example, I understand that a normal
person can hear sounds between 20 and 20,000 Hz. An
AEA/ADD person might hear sounds between 10 and
30,000 Hz. This relative difference is true for the other four
senses as well. They also have more difficulty blocking out
input from the five senses. For example, it is much harder
for ADD/AEA people to ignore noises that normal people
can ignore, or do not even hear.
In addition, the brains of AEA/ADD people operate much
faster than those of other people, estimates range from two
to three times faster. For one thing their brains have to
operate faster to process all of the additional input they are
receiving from the five senses. In fact, their brains seek
constant input. Their brains are almost always on full
throttle. Consequently, AEA/ADD people appear to have
much higher and longer lasting energy levels.
AEA/ADD people are most often very intelligent. But their
intelligence is not always readily apparent. Albert Einstein
had to take the fifth grade over again. AEA/ADD people are
most often very impulsive, because their brains naturally
circumvent the “rational” part of their brain that restricts clear
thoughts by considering the input of others. Their impulsive
actions are not always well received by normal people.
However, when AEA/ADD people are able to use their
exceptional information gathering capabilities, their faster,
less restricted, ability to process this additional information,
and they are able to channel their impulsiveness, they can
present their remarkable conclusions and results to the
normals in a way that will be readily accepted.
Sometimes AEA/ADD people will feel down, because of the
frustrations of dealing with the normal, slower world, which
can be troublesome if they let these frustrations get to them.
However, AEA/ADD people frequently bounce back to their
normal energetic levels.
It is also my experience that AEA/ADD is passed down
directly from parents to their children. We have found that a
vast majority of AEA/ADD people has, at least, one parent
who also has it, whether they know or admit it. This is a
blessing, because this gives ADD/AEA children, at least,
one parent who can easily relate to them by operating at
their same speed.
Blessings of having AEA/ADD.
AEA/ADD people operate in a mindset that is outside the
world of normal people. Consequently, they constantly think
out of the box. AEA/ADD people see more of the world and
are able to process the additional information to see the
truth in things that normal people frequently overlook. They
are very creative and constantly take themselves, their
thoughts, and their ideas places that normal people rarely
know exist. AEA/ADD people want to be trailblazers and they
most often are. They are very adept at reading other people,
especially in one on one personal interactions. AEA/ADD
people can recognize, understand and organize extremely
complex ideas, concepts, and processes. They have an
extremely sensitive, very acute and very accurate sixth
sense. Their hunches and intuition are remarkable, and are
almost scary at times.
They frequently have spurts of boundless energy, and then
they like to hibernate. They have the unusual ability to hyper
focus, and do so for long periods of time. By hyper focus I
mean they can direct their entire mind and body on complex,
yet specific activities and get into zones of concentration that
are very remarkable. This hyper focus produces spectacular
achievements. Thomas Edison was legendary for his
spurts of hyper focus. He tested over 5,000 different light
filament materials, before he finally found the one that
worked. They can think extremely fast on their feet and react
faster than most people. They can also conduct multiple
activities at the same time. This is called multitasking.
In summary, AEA/ADD people are blessed with the ability to
receive additional information through their senses, they are
able to process all of this additional information and reach
accurate conclusions very quickly, and they have the
intelligence, energy, focus, and motivation to go places and
create things that normal people are most likely not aware
of.
Drawbacks of AEA/ADD as seen by normal people.
In the eyes of normal people, AEA/ADD people have the
following impediments that provided the basis to call it a
"Disorder." AEA/ADD people cannot be controlled. (They can
be convinced, but not controlled) They can be fidgety and
impatient, especially in confined meetings, like school
classes (because they get bored). AEA/ADD people appear
to be disorganized (invariably messy). They appear to be
easily distracted, (because they react to sensory information
not perceived by others). They appear to have difficulty
focusing on anything for very long (because they get bored).
But they also get into zones where it is difficult to interrupt
them. They appear to frequently forget to complete things
(like completing paperwork), or forget about important dates
and events (like meetings). They can have brilliant ideas but
often forget about them later.
They can be difficult to talk to, because they frequently
interrupt normal people and sometimes even finish their
sentences, and they regularly bounce from subject to
subject. They appear to be very impulsive and frequently do
or say things that are out of the norm. They frequently
address the truth in things, and appear to have fewer social
graces. They are frequently stubborn and challenge
information presented by others, and are far more often than
not right. They tend to get bored easily. They normally do not
perform repetitive tasks well. They seek challenges and
change. They have difficulty turning their brains off, or
slowing them down. Their minds are either seeking more
input or creating more ideas.
The special relationship between ADD/AEA people.
Yet, when two AEA/ADD people meet and interact, few of the
above drawbacks occur. Watching two AEA/ADD people talk
about matters they both enjoy can be a trip. That's because
many of the "drawbacks" that frequently bother normal
people, do not affect ADD/AEA people. Thus, some of the
drawbacks represent the uncomfortable ways normal
people (only) react to the behaviors of people with AEA/ADD.
Two AEA/ADD people will have similar energy levels, think at
the same speed, focus at the same levels, are tuned into
similar input from their expanded senses, and process the
information at the same speed. They are much more in tune
with each other and communicate with much less difficulty.
AEA/ADD people are not bothered as much by bouncing
from subject to subject, fidgeting, impatience, boredom, lack
of social graces and impulsiveness when they
communicate with each other.
Drawbacks ADD/AEA people want to overcome.
However, there are some drawbacks that AEA/ADD people
need to overcome to live a more effective and enjoyable life.
These drawbacks include the tendency of forgetfulness, the
tendency to be over impulsive, and the tendency to be
impatient in communicating with normal people. ADD/AEA
people also appear to have difficulty completing tasks and
projects required by others. They appear to lack control over
their desire and ability to focus. They also have difficulties in
remembering names of others. There are solutions to these
drawbacks.
ADD/AEA people are in the minority.
The reality is that “normal” people far out number ADD/AEA
people. Thus, ADD/AEA people are frequently disparaged,
degraded, and criticized because they do not conform to the
way "normal" people think and interact with others. Normal
people apply considerable pressure on ADD/AEA people to
get with the program and adjust to be like everyone else.
The common solution to correcting ADD impediments.
One of the most common solutions to "fix" ADD people is to
prescribe drugs (normally amphetamines). They are
frequently used to convert ADD people (especially children)
into being more "normal" and more controllable. These
drugs generally slow the brains of ADD people down,
reduce their tendencies to be over impulsive, to be fidgety,
and they decrease tendencies to be distracted. There are a
number of drugs available that affect ADD people in different
ways. Unfortunately, ADD patients are not always matched
with the right drugs for them. When this happens, ADD
patients have frequently felt that they lose the blessings of
AEA/ADD, and that they lose control over their own minds
and turn into less than alive people. In my opinion, drugs
are not the fix all solution for people with ADD. Not all ADD
people respond favorably to the drug solution. (I have never
used any drugs for ADD, and my two ADD children
voluntarily chose to cease their prescribed medications, and
prospered thereafter). When done right, drugs can provide
beneficial solutions to some of the drawbacks of ADD, but
not all of them.
Unfortunately, the powers of drug companies to push their
ADD medications caused at least one supposedly “ADD
support group” to demand that I change this section and
recommend ADD medications as the only solution, before
they would publish this article. I declined.
Other solutions to AEA/ADD drawbacks.
There are other ways to overcome these drawbacks. These
include the full understanding of the behavioral differences
of being AEA/ADD, and adjusting behavioral practices to
control these issues at a very practical and desirable level.
As an example, let's discuss a solution to the forgetfulness
drawback. AEA/ADD people need to create a "to do" list that
they have by their side at all times, and constantly monitor
and review. Whenever they come up with an idea or agree to
do something (without a time limit) they must immediately
write the key words to each matter on the "to do" list. The "to
do" list becomes their index for action items. In addition,
they want to have a calendar with them at all times that they
also review frequently. Whenever they decide to do
something that is time dependent, like meet someone for
lunch, remember a birthday (AEA/ADD people are notorious
for forgetting birthdays and anniversaries) or turn in a report,
they need to put it on the calendar.
The Life (ADD) Coach Solution.
Another example of a non-drug based process to is to use a
life (or ADD) coach to accomplish, at least, one coachable
goal. Sometimes, using a life (or ADD) coach is done in
conjunction with using the right medication. By using a
coach, AEA/ADD people will discover what their true (and
special) talents are, what their unique self-imposed
obstacles (drawbacks) are, what their true passions (zeal
for creativity) are, what their true priorities are, and what their
values and beliefs (spirituality) are. The unique blessings
they have because of their AEA/ADD will also be discovered
and recognized. AEA/ADD people will work with their coach
to achieve their coachable goals around their special
unique priorities and characteristics uncovered in the
discovery process. This way the AEA/ADD person will be
able to use their special and unique gifts in a natural way to
achieve their goals. In other words, they create the
situations where they achieve their goals by being
themselves. By focusing on achieving their coachable goals
by living and acting on their terms, they basically change
their environment to suit them. (What a concept).
There are other behavioral solutions to virtually all of the
"drawbacks" that do not include drugs and that allow
AEA/ADD people to gain control over their brains and
maximize the unique blessings they were given.
Conclusion
Having AEA/ADD places people in a very special and
blessed category. AEA/ADD people can easily enjoy a very
wondrous and rewarding life because they have it, when
they understand their AEA/ADD, manage their drawbacks,
and accentuate their unique gifts to reach whatever life and
other goals they set. Two of my four children also have ADD
and they are shining because they have it. I have thoroughly
enjoyed my gifts from AEA/ADD, and I have prospered
because of what the blessings from AEA/ADD have allowed
me to do. You can too!
Provided as an educational service by Bill Dueease of The
Coach Connection, where “connecting great people with
great coaches” is their goal. You may receive a free copy of
the article “The Ten Paths to Human Improvement” by
contacting The Coach Connection at 800-887-7214,
239-415-1777, coaches@findyourcoach.com, or
http://www.findyourcoach.com/0o-add-coach.htm
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