Tuesday, February 22, 2011

"I prefer to distinguish ADD as attention abundance disorder. Everything is just so interesting . . . remarkably at the same time.” Frank Coppola

Several years ago I was diagnosed ADHD. Most of my students will not come surprised. For the most part I think I knew it before I was diagnosed. Many of my thoughts are trying to understand my brain and why I think the way I do and what I can do to mitigate the strangeness of my thoughts. The reason I bring this up is to highlight a site. Now I should take the time to say there are plenty of medical websites out there devoted to one particular problem or another but this one of course was close to my heart or is it brain? Anyway I was watching PBS and I caught the tail end of a documentary on the condition. I thought it was decent and both funny and kind of corny but I decided to follow it up and find more about it. The website that the documentary is tied to is totallyadd.com. The moment I went on the site it appealed to me. I stole their summary and listed it below:

“Check out are videos about ADHD treatment, the diagnosis, tools targeting the ADD symptoms dealing with feelings and more.”

You can watch clips from the documentary or take their virtual test. They do have an exclaimer saying that you should always check with a trained therapist for a real diagnosis. What I liked most about the test was the in depth descriptions that really allow you to understand the condition. They have links, discussions, and rants. Lastly I should say this does not excuse my behavior or others but it can help to both understand it and to deal with it. If you know someone with the condition you may want to recommend it to them. Many people say they are ADD but it could be something else. This may help to clarify the issue.
Before I let you go I wanted to say I hate calling it a condition. I find for certain jobs it can be a real strength and not a hindrance. As a teacher I am filled with lots of energy and can concentrate on many students easily. Sometimes being different is a real plus as well as being a pain in the neck.

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