So.., where to begin.
Everything has a start and for this blog venture, I guess this must be
it.
I need you to know some things about me, especially if what may have
drawn you to this blog was curiosity. Maybe you have ADD. Maybe you know or love
someone with ADD. Maybe you, like me, not only live with ADD, but you are a
parent of a child with ADD.
Just know that you are not alone. Many of us are walking this
challenging, but often rewarding journey through the daily lessons related to
living with ADD.
You must understand that I am no doctor, I am not a therapist, nor am I
remotely an expert on the subject but like many I am adventuring in a world
that is colored by the workings of a mind that is not wired conventionally. So,
when I open up and say something that you can relate to and it relieves a
little stress, makes you feel like someone else understands, gives you a little
insight into yourself or a loved one, then I will feel a sense of gratefulness
that I was able to give you just a little chance at peace of mind for once.
If you have seen the beginnings of this blog and wondered if I’d ever
actually post something beyond the introduction, I do apologize.
Procrastination is a part of the whole ADD thing and for right or wrong, this
blog may not be one of the most consistent
for having new material showing up at regular intervals. So, I ask
sincerely for your patience and hope that you will head down this path of
sharing and insight into what I am sure for those without ADD is a landscape of
confusion, frustration, and daily challenges to obtain some version of
normalcy.
Too, this is a blog where I hope that some of you who stumble across it
might actually feel open to sharing with me. Sharing your own experiences with
ADD. Sharing your hopes, observations, fears, challenges, and advice regarding
your own journey with it. In other words, I hope this blog may actually be
somewhat interactive.
Since I am up late studying to get my FINRA Series 6 & 63 licenses,
I am going to keep this first post short and simple.
As a discussion starter, what is one of the things that you find that
makes you or someone you care about with ADD different than other folks around
you? What do you like about this trait? What do you find challenging about this
trait?
For me personally, the thing that comes first to my mind is my unique
observation skills. I know this is a real trait for me, because I never really
thought it was anything different or special until my wife pointed it out to
me.
I have this strange and random ability to notice things that others
often completely miss going on in the world around me. As an example, given
almost any day while I am out driving, it is almost a complete norm for me to
spot wildlife and unusual activity acted out by wildlife that is invariably completely
under the radar for those around me that do not have ADD.
It is not at all unusual for me to spot something like a hawk capturing
a pigeon alongside a local road in my peripheral vision while driving, or a
lightly camouflaged insect on a shrub in my garden as I stomp by my roses while
mowing. Early in my marriage, my wife was often surprised by these
observations, a) because I often spotted creatures or situations that were “cool,”
or would have been totally missed if I had not pointed them out to her, and b)
I often observe these things while not looking directly at them or searching
for them. Most often, I again, make these sightings with my peripheral vision
and not by “eyes forward” sightings.
The same phenomenon happens to me with sound observation. This one
issue is more of a challenge with me than what I just described in regards to
sight. The challenge with sound intrusion for me is that I often need to be “focused”
on a conversation that I am supposed to be engaged in, but find instead that
the guy mowing his lawn up the street is what keeps intruding itself on my
hearing. Or, I need to be sleeping, but instead, I am kept awake by the distant
sound of my dog quietly whining in the front half of our home. In this example,
my wife asked why I was lying awake and tossing and turning. I explained that
our dog was making a load of noise and he was keeping me from drifting off. She
was unable to hear the dog and even questioned if I was right. Of course I was
proven right when I stepped up the hall to the living room and found him at the
door of his kennel whining to be let out into the backyard.
I have noticed this same phenomenon in my daughter.
This challenge often got me into trouble growing up. It created a
situation where it was easy for some people (often adults, like my school
teachers) to label me as a daydreamer with my head in the clouds. And, as an
adult this made it extremely difficult to sit through meetings since instead of
focusing on the discussion being had about the new software, or accounting
techniques that I was supposed to be wrapping my brain around, instead, I was
enthralled by the birds swooping by the office window, or the hum and click of
the central air system, or the guy going around in circles on his riding mower
just outside.
The world is full of stumbling blocks for the ADD brain. All that I
hope for in my relationships with those without ADD is that maybe sometimes,
that they might not only sympathize with the challenges created by the
difference in our brain functions, but that they might find ways to celebrate
our differences. That they might find ways to tap into the different ways we
may think and our “super-powers” if you will.
If you find yourself in this coming week, confronted by the
frustrations that we, your friends and loved ones with ADD bring into your
existence, please be patient with us. Please remember that for all of the
challenges we do bring (yes, many of us are self-aware of the challenges we
cause), we just like you have so much to offer you and the world.
Here’s to a new week ahead. Celebrate the beauty and unique insight
that the ADD brain can share with you! Grant us the gifts of patience,
understanding, and unconditional love.
Sincerely,
Mike Meehan
