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Your Child’s ADHD Advantage
There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about whether ADHD is really a problem or whether it is an advantage.
Someone proposed the “hunter theory” that states that ADHD is an evolutionary development which gave hunters an edge during the hunt. Distractibility ensures that nothing would be missed. Impulsivity aids in making instant decisions. This suggests that ADHD developed as a process of natural selection in hunting societies. It was passed on as an evolutionary advantage. It also means under certain circumstances ADHD is going to continue to be an advantage. This is a very romantic and appealing idea, particularly if you or your child has ADHD.
The biggest problem with the “hunter theory” is that all the evidence suggests that ADHD is a disadvantage in any scenario. In almost 4,000 scientific studies dealing with ADHD over the past thirty years, not a single study found that people with ADHD outperform their normal peers in any area. Indeed, it is hard to imagine how poor self-control and lack of focus are going to aid a person while stalking an animal, in the heat of battle, or in any other important complex task.
Yet, if you look at our leaders in business and society today, a surprising percentage of these individuals show ADHD behavior. Almost half of the CEOs in major corporations, many successful entrepreneurs, and most of the US Senate behave like they have ADHD. If ADHD is truly a handicap, it is hard to explain why such a high percentage of great achievers seem to have it.
It is not just the number of highly successful ADHD individuals that is striking. Just look through history and see the list of people who probably had ADHD; people like Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Beethoven, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Walt Disney, and the list goes on and on. These people were not just great members of society, they created society.
So is ADHD an advantage or is it a handicap? The answer seems to be it is both.
A genius is not someone with better ideas. We all have ideas that are pure genius. However, when a normal person gets a brilliant idea, it seems so strange, so different from the way everybody else thinks, that he usually discards the idea and goes down the familiar path. The mark of genius is that the person is not afraid of taking his creative ideas and developing them. Being different doesn’t bother him. This has popularly been called “thinking outside the box”.
A child with ADHD not only thinks “outside the box”, but also lives “outside the box”. He is used to being different. When a great idea or opportunity comes along he will be more likely to grab it, without worrying about what other people think.
Your child’s future success depends upon a number of factors. One is his native talents and abilities. However, that is not enough. There are many talented people who live as impoverished failures. There are many average people who are extremely successful.
Probably the most important factor that will determine your child’s future success is his view of himself. That view is molded by you. If you support your child, build his self-esteem, and teach him to value his talents and uniqueness, then his ADHD can be to his advantage. However, if you allow school difficulties to define him as a failure, then your child will find it very hard to rise above that.
Can ADHD make a person great? Probably not. It is hard to imagine how being easily distracted and impulsive can be helpful in any scenario. However, having ADHD can make a person be comfortable with being different. Being comfortable with being unique could be the key to success.
Most children with ADHD grow up and have difficult and unhappy lives. They are always battling the feelings of inferiority and incompetence. There are those few ADHD individuals who achieve tremendous levels of success. Ultimately, it is how you teach your child to value his uniqueness that will make the difference for your child.
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Anthony Kane, MD
ADD ADHD Advances
“If the drugs that you ADHD child takes concern you, I can help!”
Click here for more information on
I am including a short list of famous people who are known or suspected of having ADHD or similar disorders. This list is by no means complete. The purpose of this list is to let you know what is possible.
Ansel Adams (1902-1984) - Photographer
Ann Bancroft - (1931-present) - Actress
Alexander Graham Bell - (1862-1939) - Telephone Inventor
Harry Andersen - (1952-present) - Actor
Hans Christian Anderson - (1805-1875) - Author
Beethoven - (1770-1827) - Composer
Harry Belafonte - (1927-present) - Actor, Vocalist
Col. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington - (1912-1988)
WWII Flying Ace (Black Sheep Squadron Leader)
Terry Bradshaw - (1948-Present) - Football Quarterback
George Burns - (1896-1996) - Actor
Sir Richard Francis Burton - (1821-1890)
Explorer, Linguist, Scholar, Writer
Admiral Richard Byrd - (1888-1957) - Aviator
Thomas Carlyle - (1795-1881)
Scottish historian, critic, and sociological writer
Andrew Carnegie - (1835-1919) Industrialist
Jim Carrey - (1962-present) - Comedian
Lewis Carroll - (1832-1898) - Author (Alice in Wonderland)
Prince Charles - (1948-present) - Future King of England
Cher (1946-present)- Actress/Singer
Agatha Christie - (1890-1976) - Author
Winston Churchill - (1874-1965) - Statesman (Failed the sixth grade)
Bill Cosby - (1937-present) - Actor
Harvey Cushing M.D. - (1869-1939)
Greatest Neurosurgeon of the 20th Century
Salvador Dali - (1904-1989) -Artist
Leonardo da Vinci - (1452-1519) - Inventor, Artist
John Denver - (1943-1997) - Musician
Walt Disney - (1901-1971)
Kirk Douglas - (1916-present) - Actor
Thomas Edison - (1847-1931) - Inventor
(His teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything)
Albert Einstein - (1879-1955) - Physicist
(Einstein was four years old before he could speak, and seven before he could read)
Dwight D. Eisenhower - (1890-1969) - U. S. President, Military General
Michael Faraday - (1791-1867) - British Physicist, Chemist
F. Scott Fitzgerald - (1896-1940) - Author
Malcolm Forbes - (1919-1990) - Forbes Magazine Founder & Publisher
Henry Ford - (1863-1947) - Automobile Innovator
Benjamin Franklin - (1706 - 1790) - Politician, Elder Statesman
Galileo (Galilei) - (1564-1642) - Mathematician, Astronomer
Tracey Gold - (1969-present) - Actress
Whoopi Goldberg - (1955-present) - Actress
Georg Frideric Handel - (1685-1759) - Composer
Mariette Hartley - (1940-present)
Actress (Tells of her and daughter's ADD)
William Randolph Hearst - (1863-1951) - Newspaper Magnate
Ernest Hemingway - (1899-1961) - Author
Mariel Hemingway - (1961) - Actress
Milton Hershey - "The Chocolate King" - (1857-1945)
Dustin Hoffman - (1937-present) - Actor
Bruce Jenner - (1949-present) - Athlete
"Magic" Johnson - (1959-present) - Basketball Player
Samuel Johnson - Author
Michael Jordan - (1963-present) - Basketball Player
John F. Kennedy - (1917-1963) - U. S. President
Robert F. Kennedy - (1925-1968) - U.S. Attorney General
Jason Kidd - (1973-present) - Professional Basketball Player
John Lennon - (1940-1980) - Musician
Frederick Carlton (Carl) Lewis - (1961-present)
Olympic Gold Metalist, American track-and-field athlete.
Meriwether Lewis (Lewis & Clark) - (1774 -1809) - Explorer
Abraham Lincoln - (1809-1865) - U.S. President
(Entered The Black Hawk War as a Captain and came out a Private)
Greg Louganis - (1960-present) - Olympic Gold Medalist (Diving)
James Clerk Maxwell - (1831-1879) - British Physicist
Steve McQueen - (1930-1980) - Actor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - (1756-1791) - Composer
Napoleon Bonaparte - (1769-1873) - Emperor
Nasser (Gamal Abdel-nasser) - (1918-1970) - Egyptian Leader
Sir Issac Newton -(1642-1727) - Scientist, Mathematician
Ozzy Osbourne - (1948-present) - said he was ADHD on TV
Louis Pasteur - (1822-1895) - Scientist
(Rated as mediocre in chemistry when he attended the Royal College)
General George Patton - (1885-1945) - Military
Pablo Picasso - (1882-1973) - Artist
Edgar Allan Poe - (1809-1849) - Author, Poet
Rachmaninov - (1873-1943) - Composer
Eddie Rickenbacker - (1890-1973) - WWI Flying Ace
John D. Rockefeller - (1839-1937)
Founder, Standard Oil Company
Nelson Rockefeller - (1908-1979) - U.S. Vice President
August Rodin - (1840-1917) - Artist, Sculptor
Eleanor Roosevelt - (1844-1962) - First Lady
Pete Rose - (1941-present) - Baseball Player
Babe Ruth - (1895-1948) - Baseball Legend
Nolan Ryan - (1947-present) - Baseball Player
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat - (1918-1981) - Egyptian President
Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 1976
George C. Scott - (1927-present) - Actor
George Bernard Shaw - (1856-1950)-Author
Will Smith - Actor, Rapper, Entertainer
Tom Smothers - (1937-present) - Actor, Singer, Entertainer
Socrates - (469-399 B.C.) - Philosopher
Suzanne Somers - (1946-present) - Actress
Steven Spielberg - (1946-present) - Filmmaker
Sylvester Stallone - (1946-present) - Actor
Jackie Stewart - (1939-present) - Grand Prix Hall of Famer
James Stewart - (1908-1997) - Actor
Henry David Thoreau - (1817-1862) - Author
Leo Tolstoy - (1828-1910) - Russian Author
(Flunked out of college)
Alberto Tomba - (1966-present) - Italian Alpine Ski Champion
Vincent van Gogh - (1853-1890) - Artist
Russell Varian - (1899-1959) - Inventor
Jules Verne - (1828-1905) - Author
Werner von Braun - (1912-1977) - Rocket Scientist
Flunked 9th grade algebra.
Lindsay Wagner - (1949-present) - Actress (Bionic Woman)
Gen. William C. Westmoreland - (1914-present) - Military (Vietnam Era)
Robin Williams - (1952-present) - Comedian
Woodrow Wilson - (1856-1924) - U. S. President
Henry Winkler - (1945-present) - Actor (Fonzie)
Stevie Wonder - (1950-present ) - Musician
F. W. Woolworth - (1852-1919) - Department Store Innovator
(While working in a dry goods store at 21, his employers wouldn't let him
wait on a customer because he "Didn't have enough sense.")
Frank Lloyd Wright - (1867-1959) - Architect
Orville Wright - (1871-1948) - Airplane Developer
Wilber Wright - (1867-1912) - Airplane Developer
William Wrigley, Jr. - (1933-1999) - Chewing Gum Maker
William Butler Yeats - (1865-1939) Irish Author
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