Benefits of ADHD

Yes, you read this right, the benefits of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  The hyperactive, inattentive, impulsive nature of ADHD may not seem like a blessing in disguise, but that is simply because we haven't been looking at it right.

Imagine hunting a zebra on an open safari.  Now imagine being stalked by a hungry, stealthy lion.  If you are truly intent on the zebra in front of you, well...you'd be kitty food.  But instead if you tune into "distracting" stimuli around you, you might pay more attention to that bent blade of grass you hear and you may discover that quiet cat before you become dinner.  In this senario you can truly see how being ADHD is helpful.  Ask any athlete that squirrels around on the field, or court, if they ever struggled sitting in a desk for hours on end, listening to boring lectures.  The hunters of our past, have become the athletes of today.  Now, does this mean that ALL athletes are ADHD, no.  The likelihood that they would meet the criteria is high, however.  Many athletes in high schools, go to school because they like to play the sports.  Schools require a specific Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) for them to be on the teams and are offered tutoring and help to pass classes.  Not all ADHD children play sports, some like sports that are non-traditional (skateboarding, wakeboarding, dirt-bike riding) and don't have that added support at school.  We wonder why this kids struggle, fail and drop out of school.  We wonder why they end up using drugs or having no desire to better themselves, when we set them up to fail.

One hundred years ago, children might have been more likely to attend school for a while and then if school didn't suit them well it was acceptable to remove your child from school to help out at home with the farm.  These kids had pride in the work they were doing, they were never given the idea that they were stupid or incappable.