Attention Deficit Disorder

Not knowing about one's neurological, psychological or other "ogical" makeup as a young person struggling with ADHD can feel paralyzing to an individual trying to make sense of internal chaos. There is very little tolerance in public school systems for thinkers that deviate from the norm when such thinking runs counter to a teacher's wishes. This does not include open defiance or argumentativeness, neither of which are symptom of ADHD. Instead, I'm referring to the notion that a student experiencing ADHD often takes a seemingly circuitous or at least non-linear route to get to a place of inquiry that most would deem irrelevant yet nonetheless has intellectual intrigue upon careful examination. There is a tendency in public school systems, despite the outcry for the expansion of the theories of multiple intelligences to truly take shape, for teachers to default to their comfort zone of a hierarchical,logical and often mundane one-size-fits-all teaching methodology. Of course the creative teacher tends to show up during the bi-yearly evaluations to ensure tenureship. However, once accountable eyes are removed, the security of hand-outs from the Reagan administration regain consciousness (or should i say lack of consciousness) in the classroom. This failure to teach in a consistently stimulating manner leaves the kid with ADHD typically bored, pronged to restlessness and feeling alienated for being among the minority who refuse to tolerate learning in a state of ennui. As both a young person and adult with ADHD, I can reflect on how frustrating it was to be coerced into learning things in a manner that was just not hitting home. I felt idiotic, disconnected and constantly in search of a way to make sense of my erratic thoughts. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I just follow the program and maintain the same discipline that many of my peers exhibited. In short, it was because I couldn't. I was not wired to experience life through the same prism as my peers. And, although this often left me feeling like an intellectual outcast I insisted that I was bright despite my report card's opposition. I graduated high-school with a 67 average- not exactly qualifying me for many collegial opportunities. But, alas a baseball scholarship bailed me out my senior year allowing an academic pardon. Now someone told me about kinesthetic intelligence being related to using your body in a manner that allows you to succeed through both physical and mental skill. Could it be possible that an athlete playing Division I baseball might have some capacity to out-think a hitter, to know how to conserve pitches to complete a game, to know the opposing hitter's tendencies and to maintain mental composure when others cannot? Might some of this be referred to as intelligence? If only the world of academia would see the strengths in kids with ADHD, they might begin to see that all kids have gifts and special talents which may not be directly aligned with traditional coursework, but nonetheless has a vital place in the world today.