ADHD & Creativity | ADHD Information

Awsome, just awsome....I should show this to my son's 4th grade teacher....

I agree whole heartdly!!! My son spends a lot of his time doing art and trying to engineer or invent something out of lego's, his favorite thing when he was 2 was to put puzzles together.

My son definitly thinks "out side the box". He is very intelligent and comes across as stupid with school work.

smart kid you have bailey!!

my dd loves to invent too.. and i think if the parents guide their children and encourage them, the kids will turn out just fine..

 

 

 

The following two articles give me hope. Hope they do the same for y'all.

Those Afflicted With ADHD
Are Often the Most Creative

     
By Jeffrey Zaslow

From The Wall Street Journal Online     
In American schools these days, countless class clowns are sitting down
and shutting up. In chemistry labs, students who used to mix chemicals
haphazardly, out of an insatiable curiosity, now focus on their textbooks.
In English classes, kids who once stared out the windows, concocting
crazy life stories about passersby, now face the blackboard.

Ritalin and other drugs for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder have
helped many children improve their focus and behavior -- to the great
relief of parents and teachers. But ADHD support groups offer long lists
of out-of-the-box thinkers who had classic ADHD traits such as
impulsivity, a penchant for day-dreaming, and disorganized lives. Among
those who are believed to have had the disorder: Thomas Edison, Albert
Einstein, Salvador Dali, Winston Churchill.

The question is whether the Ritalin Revolution will sap tomorrow's work
force of some of its potential genius. What will be the repercussions in
corporations, comedy clubs, and research labs?

Some researchers now wonder if would-be Einsteins and Edisons will
choose different career paths because their creativity and drive are dulled
by ADHD drugs. They also worry that the stigma of being labeled with
ADHD could lead some kids to lose confidence, and dream smaller
dreams.

This concern comes as more parents are being forced to weigh the
sometimes dramatic benefits of ADHD drugs against the unknown that
accompanies any new generation of treatment. As many as 12% of kids
today have been labeled with ADHD, and the number of kids'
prescriptions for ADHD drugs, including Strattera and Adderall, rose 23%
between 2000 and 2003, according to the latest figures from Medco
Health Solutions Inc. ADHD drug prescriptions for pre-schoolers were up
49%.

A person who focuses better taking Ritalin can be "like a horse with
blinders, plodding along. He's moving forward, getting things done, but
he's less open to inspiration," says Lara Honos-Webb, a psychologist at
Santa Clara University. In her new book, due out next month and titled
"The Gift of ADHD," she identifies "gifts" that often accompany the
disorder, including creativity, exuberance and intuition. She believes
ADHD drugs temper these traits.

But others who treat ADHD argue that when children are given
appropriate drug regimens, they become far more capable. "God knows
what Einstein would have accomplished had he been diagnosed and
treated," says Wilma Fellman, a career counselor who helps clients with
ADHD.

It's too early for there to be long-term career studies about today's Ritalin
generation. And certainly, many who take Ritalin say it helps; some
describe it as quieting the circus in the room. Still, a lot of adults who've
excelled as entrepreneurs, performers, politicians and communicators
trace their successes to their ADHD.

In seventh grade in the late 1970s, Erich Muller was such a class clown
that his teachers actually sentenced him to more days of detention than
there were days in the school year. They had a cubicle-like enclosure built
atop his desk to keep his eyes from wandering. They said he should be
on Ritalin. His parents refused.

"As a kid, I'd see a thousand different things in every cloud," says Mr.
Muller. "Teachers told my parents I was 'too creative.' Too creative like
who? Picasso?" He now goes by the name "Mancow," and, based in
Chicago, is one of the nation's highest-paid radio personalities.

David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue Airways, never took drugs for his ADHD,
and is now an advocate for kids with the disorder. He says ADHD helps
him think unconventionally, and he worries that if he took medication,
he'd be like everyone else. He has found techniques to concentrate better,
while hiring others to handle organizational details. He is credited with
inventing the electronic airline ticket, which was in part an effort to help
people with the classic ADHD trait of forgetfulness.

Too many kids, especially boys who are merely rambunctious, are being
given the drugs with just cursory evaluations, says William Pollack, an
assistant clinical professor at Harvard Medical School.

In his ongoing research into boyhood, Dr. Pollack has found anecdotal
evidence that Ritalin renders some kids less interested in pursuing
creative opportunities. One boy he studied had been active in his school's
science club. After he was put on Ritalin, he felt like the spark inside him
was extinguished. He lost interest in the science club and dropped out.
Eventually, he stopped taking Ritalin, returned to the club, and developed
a flashlight alarm system that won a major science competition.

Another subject in Dr. Pollack's research is a math whiz in his 40s who
was hyperactive as a child. As an adult, the man earned several hundred
million dollars developing computer technology. "His ideas come to him
in a flash," explains Dr. Pollack. "He feels that if he had been given Ritalin
as a child, he'd have just ended up as a teaching assistant in some
science course."

This man did try Ritalin recently because his wife said his hyperactivity
was hurting their marriage. But he found the drug stifled his thinking.
He's now trying behavioral techniques to be calmer at home.

ADHD drugs are good for patching up weaknesses, not enhancing
strengths, says Dr. Honos-Webb. "If your parents want you to be a lawyer,
maybe these drugs can help you do that." But she believes a child on
Ritalin is less likely to be the next great dot-com pioneer or even a Robin
Williams-like comic.

She wishes more parents would see their kids' futures in less-rigid terms.
"Spaciness," she insists, "is a path to inspiration."These five top executives discovered that AD/HD or a learning disability
can be a capitalist tool.

by Lois Gilman

As students, they seemed to be heading nowhere—fast. A teacher hurled
an eraser at one of them, and asked, “Time passes, will you?” Another
graduated at the bottom of his high school class and was strongly
advised by his principal to go into carpet laying. A third was labeled lazy
by her teachers because she had trouble memorizing basic math facts. A
fourth was a whiz with numbers but found reading a book a difficult task.
The last was always falling behind in his schoolwork and concluded that
he was stupid. “How am I going to be successful in anything if I can’t read
and write?” he wondered.
You might say that these nowhere kids turned their lives around. They
are, in order, Alan Meckler, chairman and CEO of Jupitermedia; Paul
Orfalea, founder of the copying empire, Kinko’s; Diane Swonk, a world-
renowned economist; Charles Schwab, a pioneer in the discount
brokerage business; and David Neeleman, founder and CEO of JetBlue
Airways.
Besides having difficulty in school, these executives share another thing
in common: They all suffer from AD/HD or learning disabilities. Neeleman
has AD/HD; Swonk, Meckler, and Schwab have dyslexia, and Orfalea has
both. Each managed to turn his or her liabilities into assets on their
respective career paths. If you have difficulty with organization, reading,
or remembering math facts, these entrepreneurs prove that such
limitations don’t preclude a bright future.


Flying High
David Neeleman
Founder, JetBlue Airways
If someone told me you could be normal or you could continue to have
your ADD, I would take ADD,” says Neeleman, who foregoes medication
to manage the condition. “I’m afraid of taking drugs once, blowing a
circuit, and then being like the rest of you.”

Countless airline passengers are thankful that Neeleman skipped the
medication. If he hadn’t, perhaps JetBlue Airways wouldn’t have gotten off
the drawing board. Neeleman prided himself on thinking out of the box
when creating the airline. “With the disorganization, procrastination,
inability to focus, and all the other bad things that come with ADD, there
also come creativity and the ability to take risks,” he explains.

Neeleman boldly told the New York media, “We want to be New York’s
new low-fare, hometown airline.” His statement could be interpreted as
naïve confidence or remarkable chutzpah, coming, as it did, from a third-
generation Mormon from Utah. Despite the myriad naysayers—from the
venture capitalists who walked away from investing in the budding airline
to the media—Neeleman changed the flying experience by introducing
such innovations as live in-flight television and unparalleled customer
service—on a discount airline.

“I knew I had strengths that other people didn’t have, and my parents
reminded me of them when my teachers didn’t see them,” says Neeleman.
“I can distill complicated facts and come up with simple solutions. I can
look out on an industry with all kinds of problems and say, ‘How can I do
this better?’ My ADD brain naturally searches for better ways of doing
things.”

Neeleman’s personal life isn’t the same success story. “My wife can’t
always figure out what the heck I’m thinking, and my kids want me to
focus on just one thing with them. I find it difficult. It’s hard for me to do
the mundane things in life. I have an easier time planning a 20-aircraft
fleet than I do paying the light bill.”

Neeleman does try to rein in his wandering mind. At the office, he
surrounds himself with people who are good at the details of the
business. “My assistant helps me write letters and keeps my calendar,” he
says. “I have no idea what I’m doing one day to the next.” At home, he
has trained himself to put his wallet and keys in the same place so he
doesn’t lose them. He also wears a Casio DataBank watch, which allows
him to type in reminders of appointments or ideas as they pop up.

“Life is full of trade-offs,” he says, “and living with my untreated ADD is
one of them.”

His advice for fellow ADDers? “Look at the positives of having ADD,” he
says, “and don’t get discouraged. Don’t ever give up.”


The Copy Chief
Paul Orfalea
Founder, Kinko’s
He flunked second grade, did poorly in high school, and got C’s and D’s
in college. But that didn’t stop Orfalea, who is dyslexic and has “ADD to
the max,” from becoming an entrepreneur. Instead, it motivated the curly,
red-haired executive (nicknamed Kinko) to exceed everyone’s
expectations.

The idea for Kinko’s came to Orfalea in 1970, while he was a student at
the University of California at Santa Barbara. He noticed all the people
lined up to pay 10 cents a page to use the library photocopier. He
decided he could provide the service cheaper. Orfalea borrowed ,000
and opened his first Kinko’s in a converted hamburger stand near the
university. It was equipped with a lone Xerox machine. Today, his copying
empire, which FedEX now owns, is worth .4 billion, and Orfalea, 56, has
retired.

“My learning disability gave me certain advantages, because I was able to
live in the moment and capitalize on the opportunities I spotted,” says
Orfalea, as he looks back on his career. “With ADD, you’re curious. Your
eyes believe what they see. Your ears believe what others say. I learned to
trust my eyes.” So when customers came into his store looking to use a
computer—not to copy documents— Orfalea saw an opportunity. He
expanded Kinko’s to include computers. As a result, the company
captured many small business owners as customers, as well as the self-
employed.

His ADD provided him with the right temperament on which to build the
business. “Because I have a tendency to wander,” he explains, “I never
spent much time in my office. My job was going store to store, noticing
what people were doing right. If I had stayed in my office all the time, I
would not have discovered all those wonderful ideas to help expand the
business.” A Kinko’s that remained open for 24 hours was an idea he
picked up from his steady customers.

“I can’t write a letter and I can’t fix a machine,” says Orfalea. “My biggest
advantage is that I don’t get bogged down in the details, because of my
ADD. I hire capable people to handle that.”

Looking back on his own education, Orfalea believes that different
children have different learning styles, and that the education system
needs to recognize that fact before more children are left behind. “If the
President’s No Child Left Behind had been around when I was in school,”
says Orfalea, “I would still be in third grade, because that’s how bad a
speller I am.” And we would all be without our neighborhood Kinko’s.


Economic Forecaster
Diane Swonk
Economist and Author
Wondering where the Dow will be at year’s end, or how fast the U.S.
economy is growing? The go-to expert for economic prognostications is
Diane Swonk, author of The Passionate Economist: Finding the Power and
Humanity Behind the Numbers, and, until recently, the chief economist at
Bank One in Chicago. But ask her to write down her forecasts on paper,
and watch out! “I flip numbers constantly,” she says. “I joke about it in
front of audiences, asking them what’s the difference between 1.9% and
9.1% GDP growth? A world, actually.”

For Swonk, 42, the youngest person to serve as president of the National
Association for Business Economics (past presidents include Federal
Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan), flipping numbers comes naturally.
She’s dyslexic and has trouble remembering phone numbers, as well as
her PIN for the ATM machine.

Her numerical problems haven’t held her back in her career. She is a
brilliant thinker who processes information “multidimensionally rather
than in linear form.” This allows her to view “the endgame before others
do,” a distinct advantage in a profession where money is made or lost in
seconds. Her special way of seeing the world, she believes, “serves me
extremely well for a science like economics, where, if one thing happens,
another thing happens, in response.

“You realize that the worst forecasting in the world takes a trajectory, a
trend, and says that it will go on forever,” says Swonk. “Sometimes the
recent past is just a stage, not the trajectory of where we are heading. My
learning difference allows me to say, ‘Hey, when X happens, it doesn’t
mean that the next steps are going to be Y and Z.’ The next step may be
to go back to A.”

As a youngster, Swonk felt isolated, even though her parents also
struggled with the same learning disability. She had to deal with teachers
who thought she was lazy because her spelling was atrocious or her
mastery of math facts was poor. But her parents taught her to persevere.
“If you had to butter your bread with a chain saw, you did,” says Swonk.
“You always had to find an alternative way to get things done.” That
lesson challenged her to find ways around the obstacles that dyslexia
placed in her path.

Swonk’s struggle with her learning disability has given her a disarming
sense of humility. “I know what it’s like to be scared when you’re crossing
the street and to wonder if you’re going to be lost once you get to the
other side. Or to get behind the wheel of a car and not know if you’re
going to reach your destination. I have learned to take that in stride.”

Swonk believes that humility is a virtue in business. “You never get too far
ahead of yourself when you’re humble,” she explains. “You can be secure,
but it’s good to keep a clear and open mind about things. My dyslexia
probably made me insecure when I was younger, but now it serves as an
underlying reminder of my own humility.”


The Internet Mogul
Alan M. Meckler
Chairman and CEO, Jupitermedia
My lack of concentration, my inability to read charts, and my difficulty in
deciphering documents made me a much better business person,” says
Meckler, 59. “And my lack of patience forced me to cut to the chase.” His
dyslexia was diagnosed only recently, after the long academic struggle of
his youth. “I used to daydream in class a lot—I’d just find my mind
wandering off,” recalls Meckler, who had problems with standardized
tests. “I wasn’t able to spend much time on something if I couldn’t come
up with the answer right away.” Arithmetic, which he refers to as “math
block,” was his biggest bugaboo.

Despite his difficulties with numbers, he learned to turn his disabilities to
his advantage. In high school and college, he says, “While most people
would take lot of notes during a lecture, I could figure out the key points
by just listening to the teacher. I have developed that skill in business. I
am able to pick out the important details rather than getting bogged
down.”

At Jupitermedia, Meckler is famous for short meetings. He insists that if
you can’t describe something succinctly, then it isn’t a good idea. “I
believe in ‘keep it simple, stupid,’” says Meckler. His skill at digesting
very complex issues, to “listen to them, not read about them,” enabled
him to spot business trends and to take advantage of those opportunies
before the competition did.

“I spotted the Internet as a business opportunity three or four years
before anyone else,” he says. “I started a newsletter and reporting service
that covered the development of the Internet, then turned it into a
magazine, then into a trade show. Internet World became the fastest-
growing trade show in history, and was very big from 1994 to 1999.”
Meckler has since turned his attention to search engines and has
launched a new trade show, Search Engine Strategies.

While the information industry generates reams of data, diagrams,
graphs, and charts, Meckler depends on colleagues to interpret them for
him. “I can understand very simple bar graphs,” he says. “Once the chart
has multiple lines, I can’t follow it.” When it comes to interpreting
economic data, “I’ll go to my chief financial officer and say ‘take me
through this.’ I’ll digest it instantly if I know the topic, but I can’t follow it
otherwise.” Balancing his checkbook is also left to others.

This takes him back to his youth, his passion for baseball, and his
learning disabilities. New York in the 1950s had three baseball teams, so
there were plenty of statistics for young Meckler to keep track of. He
overcame his math block through those stats. “ I would devour the
statistics,” he recalls. “I memorized baseball averages, taught myself
thirds, averaging out, and how to compute earned run averages.” Then he
confesses: “I still have problems if you tell me to divide—I can’t figure out
the numerator or the denominator—I have to go back and think of
baseball averages to help me.”

So that’s the secret behind running a million business.


Investing Wisely
Charles Schwab
Founder and chairman, Charles Schwab & Co.
Growing up in a family of modest means in a small town outside of
Sacramento, Schwab had to struggle through Stanford before landing a
job in a small brokerage house. It was a modest beginning for the man
who would start the nation’s fourth-largest brokerage firm.

As a child, he didn’t know he had dyslexia—it was identified when the
disability was spotted in his son 16 years ago. But he did know that he
had to work much harder than other kids in school. He was good in math
and science, but weak in reading and writing. “I eventually overcame
dyslexia because I was a reasonably competent kid and had a pretty
outgoing personality,” said Schwab in Fortune Small Business. “I could
communicate with my teachers, and I asked lots of questions in class. I
think that’s why I became favored among teachers. They’d say, ‘Gee,
Chuck really works hard at it. We gotta give him the B instead of the C
minus.’ ”

His struggle with his learning disability shaped him as an entrepreneur. It
taught him humility. “You’re never quite certain you’ve accomplished
what you wanted to do. It’s wonderful fuel for motivation.” It has helped
him accomplish some things in his career that he wouldn’t have believed
possible.

“I was always aware of the fact that I excelled with numbers, even though
I struggled with reading,” he says. “I focused on my strengths and used
my natural affinity for numbers and economics as the focus of my career.”

Like economist Diane Swonk, he says, “I found something I was good at
and became passionate about it. I also discovered that many skills and
talents, in addition to reading ability, are as important in the making of a
top executive. Character, ethics, communication skills, consistency,
analytical and relationship skills. Those are important for leaders. I have
some of those skills, and I work with a lot of great people who bring other
strengths and talents to the table.”

Add to that list of his assets, a spirit of generosity. After Schwab’s son
was diagnosed with dyslexia, the entrepreneur and his wife, Helen,
decided to help other families who had learning-disabled children. They
started schwablearning.org to give parents the answers to the million-
and-one questions they have when their child has learning problems.
They also began Sparktop.org, a Web site for learning-disabled children.

Like most executives, Schwab values teamwork. “I have strong people
around me who focus on day-to-day planning and organization,” he says.
“They know how to streamline my paperwork and to minimize my
reading. It’s really no different from most people who run companies or
large departments. It takes a team to make things work well.”

What advice would Schwab give to others with AD/HD or dyslexia or
another learning disability? “Find out what you can do well, focus on it,
and work doubly hard,” he says. “We all aspire to do the best we can with
what we’re dealt. Focus on your strengths. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
and to admit you need it.” Look where that advice got Schwab.


Lois Gilman is a contributor to Corporate Board Member magazine and
has worked at Business 2.0, Fortune, and Time magazines.


©2004 ADDitude. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is
prohibited.

These five top executives discovered that AD/HD or a learning disability can be a capitalist tool.
My son is a prime example of this.  He loves to "invent".  He has no interest in sports but goes nuts if we let him mix stuff together from the kitchen.  Science kits are his favorite gifts.  He loves to figure out how things work.
When he was 2 yrs. he wwould wakl around and turn the lamp knobs backward to get them off.  It was irratating but pretty smart for a 2 yr. old!
There are some positive aspects to this complicated issue.
They make me want to sit back and relax a little bit. They show us that even if our kids don't make the grades in school that everyone says they can on meds, there is always the chance that they will succeed in the adult world where everything doesn't revolve around being able to master everything.