Is there really "nothing positive" about ADD?

[Wgreen]

Pete, when you argue that one person’s dysfunction can somehow increase functionality in a group, you open up an interesting can of worms. I’ve already sent the e-mail off to Barclay. I don’t know how he would answer that one; perhaps he’d argue that the same could be said for “great aunt Hattie”: If she’d just go ahead and die (cease to function), the whole family would benefit from the cost savings associated with her 24/7 care. i.e., a condition that’s not so hot for Hattie would be a benefit to everybody else. But I dunno.

I would add this: show me an HR department these days that would touch a loudmouth contrarian and I’ll show you a flying saucer. HR has become a synonym for groupthink…which is why I suspect ADDers looking for work may be better served applying for positions at companies too small to have fossilized cultures.

REPORT ABUSE

[Shadow Nexus]

Here’s my list of the positives, some of our super-human abilities

hyper-awareness of the environment:

good luck sneaking up on me, you won’t get 100ft near me without me knowing it.

Driving accidents are rare.

hyper-taste:

tasting items at a high level. who needs drugs when you can have taste “orgasms”.

hyper-creative:

Writing stories is too easy. I just write down the movie playing in my head. The rest is editing. The 3D characters come to life from the moment I picture them in my head. The more the movie plays, the more I learn about them. For other things, ideas keep coming in an endless stream.

hyper-active:

no problems with weight. I’m lucky to keep it on.

hyper-ability to process visual data:

I move fast through stores. My ability take in visual info is staggering, even to me.

hyper-reflexes:

My driving and gaming reflexes are amazing.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

@Wgreen, I wouldn’t attribute it to dysfunction–it’s not like we ling poo at people. It’s just our tendency to express our opinions openly and to see an issue from a different perspective. I wouldn’t characterize that as dysfunctional!

I agree on the HR. Biggest waste of resources in the corporate world.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I think HR is actually an oxymoron…..misleading at best……and outright deception historically.

Gawd, I thought I could walk away from this one………………not yet I guess. Anybody got a date/time stamp on this thread???

toofat

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I think HR is actually an oxymoron…..misleading at best……and outright deception historically.

Gawd, I thought I could walk away from this one………………not yet I guess. Anybody got a date/time stamp on this thread???

toofat

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

What the hell…….seems I’ve developed a st-st-stu-stutter……

toofat

REPORT ABUSE

[Wgreen]

Here is Dr. Barkley’s reply to Pete’s post on the previous page:

There is not a single scientific study that supports any of these claims as being associated features of ADHD.

Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D.

Email: drbarkley@russellbarkley.org

Website: russellbarkley.org

Phone/Fax: 843-971-8323

Dr. Barkley’s latest books are listed below:

1. Taking Charge of Adult ADHD (New York, Guilford Publications)(August 2010) go to http://www.guilford.com/p/barkley18 or any major bookseller.

2. The Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale, (Feb. 2011) http://www.guilford.com/p/barkley20

3. The Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale (Feb. 2011) http://www.guilford.com/p/barkley19

4. The Barkley Functional Impairment Scale (May 2011) http://www.guilford.com/p/barkley21

Watch for another new book to appear in early 2012:

Executive Functioning and Self-Regulation: Extended Phenotype, Synthesis, and Clinical Implications (sign up for eAlert at http://www.guilford.com/barkleyalert)

REPORT ABUSE

[Wgreen]

Now then, Dr. J, Rick, any response? Or can you suggest an expert with a different point of view?

REPORT ABUSE

[caper]

p.s. forgot about Moyzis, so there is evidence of positives in ADD.

“ obtaining evidence of positive selection acting at the human dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene locus, associated with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the personality trait of novelty seeking, and C) uncovering the evidence of extensive recent positive selection throughout the human genome.”

http://www.biochem.uci.edu/faculty/moyzis.html

REPORT ABUSE

[caper]

AgumentativeOne: “Anecdotal comments serve no purpose”

In psychology, the patient’s perspective is the primary thing that matters. Your comments implying that the patients perspective doesn’t matter (they could be delusional, etc) are scary. As long as they are not committed to an institution, not even a doctor like Barkley would force someone to take meds. I think I’ll start calling you the ADD Nazi!

Today I took 27mg of Concerta instead of my usual 36 since I was alone for the morning.

If you were my doctor would you make me take more even if I am pleased with the results of 36mg but my Barkley scales were still not normal?

REPORT ABUSE

[caper]

p.p.s. there aren’t many experts on genetics with a background that beats Moyzis.

“For the 8 years prior to joining the Faculty at UCI, I was Director of the Center for Human Genome Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the first Genome Center to be established as part of the Human Genome Project (HGP)”

REPORT ABUSE

[caper]

Barkley’s web page discloses that he receives a material amount of money from drug companies:

Speaker/Consultant for pharmaceutical companies (24%)

– Eli Lilly Co., Shire, Novartis

So we have Barkley saying there is “nothing positive”, which implies everyone with ADD should take medication (assuming the side-effects are not worse than the ADD I guess).

And we have Moyzis that has provided genetic proof that ADD gene(s) have been beneficial for homo sapiens sapiens for thousands of years.

REPORT ABUSE

[Wgreen]

Was I just called an ADD Nazi? I can’t tell.

REPORT ABUSE

[caper]

Wgreen: I wasn’t calling you an ADD Nazi. Are you jealous of ArgumentativeOne? Try a little harder and maybe you can steal the title.

REPORT ABUSE

[Bibliophile]

There is an Internet maxim that all heated debate degenerates into someone being compared to Hitler or called a Nazi.

For the record, I do not believe everyone should be on medication. Medication is one coping mechanism. It is an effective one, but it is a crutch. Coping behaviour development may be delayed if the ADHD person is not given opportunities to fend for themselves. I do not judge anyone based on whether they are treating their ADHD with meds, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, psychotherapy, nicotine, etc. If medication is working, take it. If you do not wish to take it, find another coping mechanism. As long as no one, including the individual him or herself is harmed, so be it.

In terms of anecdotal comments, I was referring to a single individual without a control or any measurement backing up their statement making a claim that is not verifiable. We must rely on the scientific method to analyse all claims as there is really no better objective study method available. Subjective statements without a large control group and a normal group for comparison simply remain anecdotal comments. The hypothesis has neither been proven or negated.

Claiming historical figures were ADHD does not further the argument as there is no diagnosis in place, behaviour is not witnessed first hand, etc.

As for people self espousing their belief that it is their ADHD causing X or Y. What evidence do they have of that? It is one thing to say: I am oppositional and ADHD. It is another to say I am oppositional and I attribute this to the fact that I have ADHD. I have hearing loss in my left ear, I also have ADHD, ergo ADHD gave me hearing loss. I am a successful astronaut with a strong personality, I suffer ADHD, therefore the reason I was able to be an astronaut and have a strong personality is my ADHD. I am not saying it doesn’t affect our behaviour, which in turn affects our decisions, which results in our future outcomes. But to attribute something specific, such as the ability to create characters in a narrative, to ADHD is silly. There is nothing backing the claim. There might be a million other factors that could explain one’s gift to create characters. There is nothing wrong with knowing your strengths, but the only thing you can say about them is that they are yours without further study.

Moyzis found evidence of novelty seeking. So their is a biological reason why we crave new things, new stimuli. That is great. Doesn’t prove that we are more creative, but it explains why we get bored so easily.

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts