Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception

I read an article on ADD in a doctor's office while waiting for my wife and Daughter. I was 30. I'd never heard of ADD. That article tore me the hell up. So I asked a nurse to please xerox it for me. She could tell I was a little torn up and came out and gave me a hug and gave me my copies and wrote the name of this book on the back of one. She told me this book helped her and her Son out in great ways.I also have some fairly severe Autism as well. Though I have a very high I.Q. that helps me hide it fairly well. When I read this book it made COMPLETE sense to me. It did a great job of explaining why other people had such problems dealing with me. And that MY answer wasn't trying to please all them and fit into THEIR situations but to build situations of my own which served ME effectively.Once I read the book I went and got evaluated to make sure I wasn't making any mistakes. A phsychiatrist and Psychologist met me together, then separately and then together again to give their diagnosis. They said I had adult ADHD worse than anyone they had seen in their combined careers and started offering me drugs. I turned them down. So they asked why I was there. I said I'd figured out I had it and just wanted to make sure they agreed. Then I pulled this book out and laid it on the table. They both smiled and asked if I'd read it. I said I had.At that point they had nothing but good things to say about it. They said some people are not able to follow it very well and seem to need medications to fit in. They said other people seem to use the ideas in the book to adapt fairly well. They asked me what my plan was, so I told them. They said it sounded good if I could pull it off. So I went and tried.I then ditched my entire life. Especially my job. I used to work in film editing here in Hollywood. I mainly worked on TV shows. I worked in small windowless rooms that drove me crazy. Only the women liked me, the guys all hated me. Long hair, tattoos, motorcycles, and hyperactivity wasn't appreciated around the suits. So I bailed. I worked my way into prop building and special effects. Where I did absolutely great.From there I learned I was superman. I could learn to do damned near anything in a week. I learned ADHD made me a near superhero. I could do things most people couldn't dream of doing. I once walked a 6 inch beam, 100 feet in the air, with no ropes, picked up a thing that was holding up the entire movie, turned around, walked back, and got a standing ovation from everyone one the set. The Director came up later and said "You are crazy bastard! But in a good way!" And I've lived the life of ten men and done damned near everything I ever wanted to do.I loved the way this book broke everything down to hunters and farmers. Two types of people who are just wired to do different types of things. Farmers are wired to do the same damned thing over an over an over. Focusing just on that one thing. Hunters see, smell hear, feel, EVERYTHING. . . all at once. And they can make snap decisions and do crazy things that scare farmers to death. Yet. . . they can get REALLY into things and hyper focus in ways farmers can't hardly understand. Like stalking an animal in a hunt.So, farmers think we are just lazy, cuz they see we can focus "when we want to." AN figure when we don't. . . we are just being lazy. Cuz they have no idea how our brains work. I could read college books before first grade. Yet my teachers told me I was stupid and dumb because THEY didn't know how to work with ME.This book taught me how to throw what other people want me to do. . . in the trash. I rode motorcycles for 50 years. I still have all my arms and legs. And I rode in Los Angeles, on the streets for 45 years. Of all the people I knew who rode, some died, some were crippled, most gave up after bad wrecks. I kept going all those decades cuz to me, riding was about seeing, hearing, feeling, KNOWING, EVERYTHING around me. So I survived quite nicely.I could write hundreds and hundreds of stories of how ADHD made my life crazy fun and took me all over the place. I've been married 15 years and we have never had a single argument. I have two kids from my first wife and they are both doing great. Both say I was a great Dad. My StepSon even likes me. Cuz I taught those kids how to enjoy and understand themselves and work with that. Not try to tit into some other fool's idea of the box they should be in. My kids and I have ALL learned more outside of school than in it. I raised myself from 10 on. ADHD isn't some dissorder that needs to be drugged away. It's what makes us able to do things that so many "Normal" people can't even imaging being able to do.So I read this book when it came out and it definitely changed my life in very good ways. I am always recommending it to people having a hard time with this.If the world is telling you that you are broken or stupid and you know you are smarter than them and able to do things they aren't. . . here is what I dod.1. I keep it to myself2. I don't mind when people decide I'm dumb. Let them. People who think yer dumb will teach you things.3. Get REALLY good at knowing how to teach yourself things.4. Get REALLY good at learning how to look things up and learn how things work5. Learn how everything in life is related to everything else in life6. Lean how to hunt. And I don't mean go kill things. Learn how to spot, track and understand everything around you. If will likely calm you right down. And you will see that it's HIGHLY applicable to city situations and other humans as well.7. Lean how to camp with as little as possible. Read, watch videos, ask people, whatever. Then go out and do it in nature every so often. You may find it's quite calming and a good way to get yourself all centered again.I'm also going to name two other books you may want to read. Don't see them as religious or perfect. See them as analogies and hints at ways that you can adapt yourself to dealing with the world around you.1. Tao The Watercourse Way by Alan Watts. The first half is about linear vs non linear language. It's a little dry but really worth knowing and understanding. The second half is about Taoism which is pretty much what "The force" in Star Wars is taken from. It's a great idea for ADHD people to understand. And I'm an atheist and don't believe in any kind of magic at all. However, it's a great way to visualize certain things and work things out for myself so that I keep my cool. Definitely a great book for me.2. JJourney to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan (Not Don Juan the fictional lover) This is about a college guy wanting to learn about medicinal plants from a Native Shaman. Once again, I'm not saying to make this your religious mantra or take it as 100% true. There are very good ideas in there that can be lifted and used effectively though. I tried many things in this book and they worked perfectly.So there ya go. I loved this book, it changed my life for the better. My youth was pure torture. I was constantly bullied and beaten. Once I started learning ideas that were in this book on my own, all that crap stopped and no one ever bothered me again. When I read this book, it confirmed what I had already learned and confirmed what I basically already believed because of those other two books. So I just turned the volume WAY up and stopped trying to "Fit in."I'll not go into who I ended up being. Most people don't know me. Millions do though. And all in a good way. I knew how to do what I wanted and how to not take it too far. . . because of things I learned in these three books.Last bit. When I was about 7 I was on a camping and road trip with my Mother's Parents. My Grandmother was Native and very nice about allowing me to run free out in nature. She would let me hang out with the other Natives all I wanted. She was a little less trusting of non Native types. I look like a mix of wite and my Jewish Father. I don't look Native at all. Anyway, I met an old Native guy sitting in a chair at a ghost town. At the gas station next to it actually. We got to talking and he said not to let youth be wasted on the young. I had read that before and told him I knew what he meant and I would do my best. Then I asked him for any other advice he might have.He said that as I live my life, I will be faced with a great number of decisions. And that the best way to make those decisions won't be about money or objects or power or getting close to pretty or popular people. He said the BEST way to make decisions is to pick directions that will help me live and write the best stories out of my life. And then when I'm old, tell those stories and what they taught you.Well I'm pushin 60 now. So now I write stories instead of working on other people's movies :)I hope that was useful to you.

Your reviewers experience: a few short years ago my youngest son was in real trouble. Skipping school and failing I had him tested at his therapist's request. Near genius IQ. In eight grade his math aptitude (which he failed through most of school) was above 12th grade. He was miserable and so was our family. In search of answers he was diagnosed as ADD. It was a dark dark time for me to the point I believed I might lose this child.The book is a well written argument that the child is not defective, but rather these ADD "hunters" are forced into a "farmer" environment we have grown to demand of public school system children. It also offers helpful advice on how to deal with this issue.The book allowed me to see that my son wasn't "broken" and if he had a disability it was because he was ill suited to the public school environment which demanded dull witted compliant students and wasn't interested at all in offering any alternative. Reading this book allowed me decide the world wasn't on my son's side, but I had to be, and have confidence that when I could help get him into a different environment it would be better.I can now report he dropped out of high school, a thing I came to look forward to. He immediately went to take the GED and passed most scores with 99th percentile (nothing below 93rd percentile), finished his Eagle scout badge, and is starting his own craft business doing glass work. I believe the result could have been much different without the perspective of the author and thank him for it.

I read this book years ago - and found it to be very affirming for my experience with moderate ADHD. The book explains how an ADHD brain works - and most importantly when having an ADHD brain is an asset. The book also explains what's going on in situations when an ADHD brain is not a natural fit. Each chapter addresses different areas of life and gives practical tips on coping strategies - both for those who have ADHD and for those who share life with ADHD people.This is the fifth copy I've purchased - another gift for someone who is learning how to live with ADHD, but especially how to appreciate their strengths because of it and affirm the steps they've taken to compensate for the downsides.

I didn't like the ideas tied to the evolution theory, but did like the picture it painted of a unique "hunter" type person who is useful to society. I believe we were intentionally created differently from each other, and if we get sick or our hormones get off balance too far it is due to environmental factors like diet, stress, and pollution.

Shipping was fast. Quality is good. This book is must read for anyone diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, or family member of someone, it helps to better understand and if anything, puts a positive spin on the whole thing. There is such a negative stigma of ADD/ADHD, and this book brings to light how to cope and understand and appreciate the diagnosis. Also an easy read, so anyone can read with ease. Would highly recommend.

Well worth 8+ stars. This book is informative, well well-written and gives insights into ADD like no other books about ADD besides those also written by Tom Hartmann. He has an excellent way of explaining to the reader, regardless of background, what ADD is and that it isn't an illness, just a different way of thinking. He provides useful ways to work with it so those with ADD and/or the people affected by it can be a successful part of society. Highly recommended for everyone directly or indirectly affected by ADD. Very worthwhile read.

I truly recomend it to those who believe they are ADDers or have a familiar or friend who could be, it can really help to deal with this kind of people. It is not so complete on the scientific part, it focuses mostly on the behavioral aspect, that is why it is so useful. If you are looking for a more scientific base or to complete your knowledge i recommend "the edison gene" by thom hartman.

His theory is good but after a couple of pages we start to get the point.

Bel libro. Per chi ma l'ADHD da un punto di vista completamente diverso, facendoti partecipe di un nuovo modo d'interpretazione della realtà.

These days, too much focus lies on 'fixing' people who just a bit 'different' to what is considered 'normal'. Forgive all the quotes, but it's all subjective...and that's what Thom Hartmann shows us in this remarkable book.Hartmann presents the notion that ADD is not a brain abnormality to be cured, but rather an evolutionary development necessary to achieve certain goals - and that it's all a matter of getting the right balance of different brain types, in order to make society work best.He also doesn't slip into an instant 'all the drugs are bad' stance, as people might expect from an 'alternative' health book - but he warns about the very serious dangerous of such medications and their long-term effects, and gives solutions for how they can be used in the short-term while you learn to manage on your own, if need be.Speaking as someone with ADHD myself, I found this book inspiring and exciting - it made me appreciative of my condition in a way I'd never known before. I have since recommended it to others, who all came back to me with the same impression and sense of transformation.Neurological disorders need to be viewed in a dramatically new way, because our current structure leaves too much stigma and a sense that one needs to fit a certain 'perfect' criteria of humanity, when this is just nonsense - and Hartmann is here to teach us all about the alternatives.

This book was very helpful in discovering my possible ADHD and ADD. I am definitely somewhere on the spectrum

Puts a positive spin on having ADD. It helped me come to terms with my (late) diagnosis and put things into perspective.Highly recommended