DADI.org

Say it Loud, Say it Proud
by Dana Blankenhorn
Thursday, March 02, 2000

My name is Dana, and I have ADD.

ADD stands for attention deficit disorder, but the second D should probably stand for difference. Like most ADD people, I don't feel disabled in any way by the condition. In fact, now that I know what it is, I feel quite blessed by it.

The controversy about ADD, in fact, starts with the false premise that ADD is some sort of disabling or dangerous condition. True, the ADD mind may seek drugs or personal risk, and it may daydream or become angry because to such a mind, it is frustrating dealing with those with more linear minds. And true, most education is relentlessly linear. Still, ADD is not a "problem"; it is just another challenge.

Think of Mozart or Edison or, in our own time, Robin Williams and you will see that the ADD mind is capable of immense creativity.

A lot of people I know have recently admitted to having ADD. It is the biggest coming-out party since San Francisco in the 1970s. Teachers, salesmen, researchers and writers have all confided in me, and said that having a name, even a perjorative one, for how their minds work has been the most liberating experience of their lives.

Kids on Ritalin

We are used to thinking of ADD in terms of kids, and especially in terms of Ritalin, the most widely prescribed medicine for it. As a recent University of Maryland study demonstrates, Ritalin use among children as young as 2 is proliferating at a rapid rate. The market for Ritalin is estimated to be $900 million just in the U.S.

Young boys were among the first people diagnosed with ADD, although it goes by many names. When I was a child, it was called hyperactivity. Now it is often called ADHD (the H is for hyperactive). Symptoms include anger, fidgeting, an inability to concentrate and behavior problems.

I recently learned (from my mother) that I was diagnosed with this at age 8, and Ritalin was recommended. My mother refused. "You're not turning my son into an addict," she said. Millions of mothers and fathers today say the same thing. Millions don't, though.

Perhaps because of such cautious reactions, a backlash is growing against the diagnosis of ADD in children, and in the use of drugs to treat it. Some experts like Dr. Lawrence Diller acknowledge that ADD is a real condition, but say Ritalin is over-prescribed. In his book Running on Ritalin, Diller writes, "[I]t's time to reexamine the ADD 'epidemic' and our responses to it, particularly our eagerness to use medication as a first strike."

Groups such as Parents and Grandparents Against Ritalin and Parents Against Ritalin also acknowledge that ADD exists, but argue against the use of drugs to combat it.

Other critics, like Dr. Fred Baughman, call the whole idea of ADHD a fraud, saying its symptoms mask common behaviors in children, and that treating it with Ritalin is pushing drugs on our kids. For these people, girls like Stephanie Hall, who died at 11 after taking Ritalin, are martyrs to their cause perceived to be victims of a medical conspiracy.

Overcoming ADD

Because ADHD is so often found in children, especially bright kids, and misdiagnosed as a disability (because conventional, linear schools do not know how to deal with it) it has become something to fear. Here is how Wolf Blitzer of CNN introduced a recent story about ADHD that centered on my own son, John: "Imagine not being able to concentrate on a single task, your thoughts a jumble, your speech uncontrollable. For millions of children and adults afflicted with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, that is a daily reality."

That sounds scary, doesn't it? Maybe it even sounds dangerous. But it isn't. My son is brilliant and kind-hearted, clever and gentle. It is true that he is frustrating. He angers easily and will not let go of the argument. He does not suffer fools gladly. He has leaped ahead in some classes and gotten bored as a result. He can claim to have lost his shoe while he is holding it in his hand. He is just like his dad was at that age.

Now it's true that John takes Ritalin. It deals with the worst of his symptoms. (His sister also has ADD, but it is relatively mild and she takes no medication for it.) It lets him get through the school day without boiling over in frustration. But the Lullwater School in Atlanta is doing wonders for him, and he is more self-aware, with more knowledge of his own mind, than Wolf will ever have. He also has more promise than I ever did. He knows what he is dealing with and has a lot of self-esteem, something I lacked at his age.

How to cope with ADD

If I seem angry over John's labeling, it is probably because I was treated just as badly when I was growing up, only neither I nor my parents knew what was going on. My guess is that is how most ADD people are treated coming up. It leaves scars.

ADD is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed because, like any other mental quirk, it varies widely in intensity, and its symptoms can vary as well. There are many checklists and tests through which you can see if you (or someone you love) may have ADD. If you fit the profile, here is a great book, Edward Hallowell's Driven to Distraction, that may help.

If you often find yourself daydreaming and unable to finish what you start, if you get frustrated easily, if you are angry that others can't get what you're certain of intuitively, you may have ADD. Hallowell describes one sufferer's "cough drop story," and it is a classic. This woman saw a cough drop in her car one morning, and made a mental note to throw it out. Every time she got back in her car, she remembered she needed to throw out the cough drop. The next morning she got in her car, and the cough drop was still there. She broke down in tears.

There are ways to cope. You can make lists, keep a notepad handy and work to organize your space so putting things in the same place becomes second nature. If you have a "coach," or an understanding, linear-minded spouse like I do, you can cope with ADD's problems without losing its benefits.

And there are lots of benefits. I care more about things that matter to me than other people -- it may look like anger to you but I am just being animated. I am capable of great creative leaps, some funny and others serious. My ADD may be why I am such an ardent defender of hyperlinks, as this piece demonstrates -- the Web mimics the way I think.

A world where both types flourish

In fact, today's Web era was made for people with ADD. The Web needs fast-thinking, creative leaps and quick movements. Computers, with their folders and favorites, automatically create the structure ADD people need most. (I can find lots more on my PC than I ever could on paper.)

Let's put the shoe on the other foot. If most people were ADD, those with linear minds might be derided as linears or "flat-liners," and the condition might be labeled as "OAD" (Overly Attentive Disorder), because the education system would be geared to the needs of the majority. How would you like that, huh?

I know in my heart that would not work. If we were all ADD most projects would never be completed. Manufacturing defects would be normal rather than unusual, bills would pass Congress without a second reading, and taxation of ordinary income would be impossible. Besides, my wife is a linear, and I depend on her. I lost my keys recently and called her at work -- she found them for me over the phone.

No, a world that was only ADD would be incomplete. We need you linears. But you need us. Get over it.

Dana Blankenhorn is a freelance journalist who has written for pay online since 1985. He writes a free weekly e-mail newsletter called A-Clue.Com and co-authored Web Commerce: Building A Digital Business with Kate Maddox, interactive editor of Advertising Age magazine. He is a regular commentator for IntellectualCapital.com. E-mail him at dana.blankenhorn@worldnet.att.net.

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