Re: Dr. Mate's theory of ADHD being caused by early adversity

[Anonymous]

Any adversity I had growing up was probably self-induced. I have the greatest parents in the world, still happily married after 47+ years. I was an only child and can only remember being deliriously happy for the first 14-15 years of my life before hormones and motor vehicles took control. I don’t blame anybody else for the way my brain works. On the contrary, I’d like to know who to thank, because I like it!

I do know now that my father is ADD. Whether my “problems” were taught or genetically passed to me is for someone else to determine. Does it really matter anyway? One thing I’ve heard is that if a father is away a lot, a son’s ADD can be worse. That was the case for me from about age 6-15 when my father was on the road about three nights a week.

Which led me to another memory–the way I used to tinker with things when I was growing up. Or sometimes I’d try to build things with disastrous results, like the time I watched the soap-box derby on TV and decided I was capable of building a downhill racer out of scrap lumber and parts from dead lawnmowers. Mine probably weighed more than I did and had inadequate steering and brakes. I didn’t think to test it before putting it on a steep road. Like me, it moved really FAST. Like me, it was very hard to guide and stop.

Well, it did suddenly stop.

I don’t remember much about the treehouse I built. Or how I got down from up there.

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