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The Oaks of Wannabe.

A favorite place of mine is the Oak Grove of Wannabe.  The gnarled rugged strength of those ancient trees grant me security.  I go there to think the impossible until it becomes real.  It's truly amazing - the balance and order here in Wannabe Land.  None of the fears, frustrations and failures of the outside world.  As I consider power of the great oaks, I wonder if ADD is as chaotic as the world makes it out to be.

ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder.  Have you ever wondered what that means?  Certainly you know that you are different and that you have great difficulty coping with life.  No doubt you have found that life brings more frustration and disappointment than happiness and fulfillment.  But Attention deficit - what does it mean to have a deficit of attention?

ATTENTION, of course, is the ability to mentally focus on a specific object, theme or topic.  DEFICIT is a lack of or impairment of something.  So it appears that the overall description of ADD is the inability, or impaired ability at best, to mentally focus on something.  But think about it.  Is this really valid?  As a child I could focus my attention on my daydreams for long periods of time - perhaps even days.  It was a kind of mind travel for me.  Even today, I can concentrate at length on some idea or concept regardless of what is going on around me.  The only thing that can break my concentration is singing.  The combination of music and words (lyrics) make it impossible for me to concentrate on anything. 

Could it be that ADDers do not really lack the ability to concentrate?  Could it rather be that we simply do not CONFORM to the world's expectations of paying attention?  Perhaps our concentration happens DIFFERENTLY than the rest of the world.  We tend to "see" the world in terms of holistic imagery rather than as a logical step by step process.  So while a "normal" person is still trying to fit the parts together (i.e. maintaining concentration), we have already taken a mental picture of the whole and are ready to move on. 

So the problem may not really be a DEFICIT of attention but rather a DIFFERENCE in concentration.  I believe that if ADDers, even children, were taught thinking skills based on their holistic type of concentration and were allowed to think and learn with such skills, we would realize a significant difference.  There would far less overlooking of important details or confusion or impulsive behavior.  It may even reduce our famous hyperactivity.  As it is, we are taught (no, rather forced) to think the way the rest of the world thinks.  And all the while, a normal person may strive a lifetime to emulate our natural ability to think in terms of the whole rather than be restricted by their linear thinking.

How strange it is that we pay a heavy price because we do not think as others do.  In fact, if you think about it, most of the characteristics used to describe ADD were developed by professionals who have not experienced our way of thinking.  They only know what they see on the outside - that we are different and that we tend not to fit the mold of society.  For this reason, we are deemed to have a DISORDER.

But before we are charged with disorderly conduct, lets consider how we think - maybe we can find a compromise.