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Understanding Attention Deficit Disorder

Part Two

By Dr. William Sears

and not necessarily a deficit or disorder. Many famous people who have made this world a better and more interesting place in which to live had ADD, such as Edison, Churchill and Mozart. Mozart was capable of going through an incredible state of hyperfocus so he could compose an entire opera in only a few weeks, yet he had problems completing many other tasks. He was socially impulsive, financially irresponsible and died a pauper. Edison is another example of the ability to hyperfocus. He was in perpetual motion in his seat and his mind would wander. All of these people used these ADD traits to their advantage. How dull and different history would have been without them! These children are spontaneous, creative, and have the ability to intensely focus on tasks they like and those that have relevance. Your job as a parent is to shape the child's specialness to work to the child's advantage and not disadvantage. In some ways, parenting the child with ADD is like being a gardener -- you can't change the color of the flower or the time of the year it blooms, yet you can prune the plants and pick the weeds to help the flower blossom more beautifully

Want to see more?

• If you suspect your child might have ADD, or if you want to work out an individual management plan, check out The ADD Book, by Dr. William Sears and Lynda Thompson.
• Help! My 8-year-old daughter has major behavior problems. What can I do?
• How can I work with my son's teacher to keep him from acting out at school?
• Back to part one