Is ADHD a gift?
There is an article in the New York Times today that addresses the fact that many children with ADHD have the ability to concentrate very well on one or two things at which they excel. The example held out is Michael Phelps. The Times article examines whether it is that kids do well in spite of their ADHD or that the ADHD does something to heighten certain skills to the detriment of others. I thought it was an interesting article.
My brother, with his many problems including ADHD, is an exceptionally gifted singer. But his mother is a singer/songwriter. My son is reading at a 4th grade level and playing chess at 5. But his grandfather (my Dad) is a MENSA-level genius and his Mom started reading very young (2? 3?) and was called the Walking Dictionary in school (but cannot do math for anything!) I think that they got it right when they said that people display gifts despite the ADHD, not because of it.
3 Comments
Any clearly ADHD adult I ever knew was successfully in business for him/herself.
Makes sense. I know my brother had such a hard time in school and music was the only thing that made him happy so he really threw himself into it.
I agree with you. Some people are just naturally inclined in certain areas and I bet people with ADHD try extra hard to focus on the things they actually enjoy and are good at.