New Post

Well, after finally meeting a larger group of my peers than I have in the past and feeling the vibe of the connection with my fellow shipmates on the good ship Distraction I am cautiously revitalizing this blog.

Finally a new post Arrgh!

As the seasons change I'm more scattered than ever but becoming more comfortable with that fact everyday, the fact that I'm gonna be this way forever, despite the meds that I recently stopped taking again, despite my ADD coach who is a treasure beyond measure April Ancel is her name, she's really helping to increase my acceptance of this disease. despite it all this is the way things are- messy channel surfing bull shit- but it's mine.

You've gotta Fight for your Right......to hate your job

Ahh hahaha.. the jokester is in session today. What I want to talk about is the right of ADD/ADHDers to accommodations in the work place, we have a recognized disability. I remember the day my boss came to me for the umpteenth time about my paperwork being late. I finally told him I had ADD/ADHD he said that now he knew my formerly mysteriously lazy behaviour began to make sense. The sense of relief I felt at that moment was profound. I was able to ask for help in a way that did not make me feel defective. I even asked to be checked up on more often! Can you believe that?
Since then my performance evaluations progressively got better and better. I think that was the turning point where I began to work with my ADHD instead of against it. I've definitely learned that once I got on top of my paperwork, progress notes etc. the way to stay on top was to do it now. That's not to say that I always jump right on tasks but I'm not so far behind the eight ball anymore that I can't get caught up very quickly usually same day.
OK here is an excellent article about accommodations on the job by Dale S. Brown from the ADDA website.
Remember to keep fighting.

In Case You Were Wondering

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the formal name for what is known as Attention Deficit Disorder ( ADD ). You will see many variations on this definition throughout the web but its ADHD that's referred to in DSM IV I tend to refer to myself as an ADDer because as an adult I have of course shed the hyperactive part, right? I mean that fidgeting in your seat running around the school yard throwing the ball while you climb a tree stuff that's for kids right? Hmmm... maybe I still do all that but just in my car driving too fast drinking coffee, listening to the radio and talking on the cell, like all the other non-hyperactive adults.

Love Hurts

10 Things Adults with ADD Would Like Their Partners To Know
20 More Things Adults with ADD Would Like Their Partners To Know
Good stuff, relationships are the hardest for us, maybe harder than for anybody else.

Where do ADD/ADHDers gather on the web?

I think eventually I'm going to build a separate site to hold the links and articles because really I'm only giving bits and pieces as of yet. In the meantime here's a couple forums groups etc.
A Myspace group
A Tribe.net group ADD adults I'm a member I think its the most active on tribe.
A directory of Yahoo ADD/ADHD groups
2 Google groups
Probably the biggest most active ADD Forum ADDF
ADDERS.org forum, requires registration to read forums which I'm not thrilled about, but if you have the patience go ahead, I don't, at least not today.
Forums at ADDitude.com
Ok I'm fading a bit need a break, I'll be right back with more distracting stuff!

Righteous Anger

When I think about ADD/ADHD and my issues in relationship to non ADDers or the possibly "undiagnosed" I quite naturally get angry. I have been deeply shamed, horribly nagged and my character insulted, by people without ADD who chose to actively ignore the fact that ADD was affecting my ability to function in an "acceptable" (a term so very subjective) way. I say "affecting" not "ruling" because I know I conciously made choices that negatively impacted others. However, many times it was the ADD/ADHD that caused the problem, not because I wanted to forget something important to someone else, but because I was'nt aware how awful my ability to process and store important information really was. Understanding is a key to having compassion, but I have found that for some people it is easier to choose ignorance of the issue rather than try to accomodate or "work with" an ADD/ADHD person, be they a child, friend, spouse, coworker, supervisor etc.
Having said all that I know that if I forget a loved ones birthday for example, when I knowingly could have created a way to remind me of that date, that I am in the wrong. They have a legitimate reason to be angry, what they don't have in my opinion is the right to therefore assasinate my character to nth degree calling me worthless, a loser, lazy etc. (Does anybody sympathize with how much I hate to be called "lazy", I bet you do.)
My point is that we ADD/ADHDers have a right to be angry, but we also have a responsibility to do what we can to minimize the negative impact this disorder has on others but especially ourselves. I have not always taken on that responsibility or at least not consistently (what does that word mean anyway?). I regret the way that has caused pain for others. I truly regret the pain I have caused myself by conciously remaining unconcious about my ADD/ADHD. My only hope is to try and do something different than I did before, to fight the good fight as they say, care to join me?