Now that I have discovered the internet as a means of sharing information I want to take my little 'mission' online. I want to share 2 articles that give a positive spin on ADD for a change. I have forwarded these articles to dozens of people via email.

What prompted me to do this? I will never forget being at our local library. An obviously upset mother approached the librarian and asked her if she had any books on ADD. She went on to say that her child had just been diagnosed with ADD; as though the child had just been diagnosed with the C word! I regret to this day not going up to that mother and offering her some reassurance.

I think the labeling does more harm than anything else. Personally I don't believe it's a disease I just think some of us have different operating systems just like the difference between a PC and a Mac. Just because Macs are in the minority does not make them inferior!!! Quite the contrary if the Mac commercials are accurate!

When I was a child the term ADD/ADHD was unheard of, however there were many examples around even then. My mother was ADD, I'm ADD and now my son is ADD. (Oh but it's not genetic I've been told). Our son has gone from being labeled ADD to highly gifted. Once again it's the way we look at something. We can see it as negative or positive. It is our choice. We can see a child as hyper and a bull in a china shop or we can see them as spontaneous and enthusiastic.

Scored High on Symptoms Checklist

I remember giving my mom a magazine article to read in which there was a checklist of symptoms. Mom scored 18 out of 19! The only one that she didn't tick off was hyper (technically that one applied too, she had a hyper mind). She was severely depressed for weeks after as it dawned on her what it was that had shadowed her whole life getting in the way of long lasting success. In her words, what ruined her life. I read the article and all those stories she had told me about her early childhood, getting in trouble for no reason suddenly came into a new clarity. Being ADD she had never seen how her actions led up to what in those days were severe consequences and which finally led to her being sent to a convent. Watching my young son and hearing her stories was an Oprah light bulb moment.

Went The Whole Gamut

We went through the whole gamut of diagnosis, special label at school to qualify for extra help, bio feedback, medication etc. etc. We decided finally to go off meds. We began using an Omega 3 supplement made from long chain omega 3 fatty acids. Recently a pharmacist that I know told us how he has got over 75 children off of meds with the use of this same brand combined with a couple of other supplements. One 9 year old kid wrote and thanked him for helping him to feel normal like the other kids. He says his formula can do no harm. Why wasn't he my friend when our son was in elementary school!

Well, that's a bit of our story. This is for all you ADDers out there! Please feel free to share this as you deem fit. I sincerely hope you enjoy the articles.

From the book The "Added" Dimension (Foreword) by Kate Kelly & Peggy Ramundo. This is my all time favorite ADD story! Help me on my mission to share it with as many families as I can:

In August 1994, I was traveling through one of the most remote regions of central India, sharing an ancient train compartment with an Indian physician and two Indian businessmen. Since we had twelve hours together and it was in the middle of monsoon season, there wasn't much to do but talk. "Have you ever heard of Attention Deficit Disorder?" I asked.

They gave me a blank look and said they hadn't. Even the physician was baffled: It was something he hadn't encountered in medical school, or perhaps had forgotten about in his years of treating cholera, leprosy, malaria, and the other serious and often epidemic diseases that plague India So I described to them the life of a typical adult with ADD as I perceived it: the disorganization, the constant change, the job-hopping and often fleeting relationships, the attraction to independence and entrepreneurialism, the distrust of institutions and bureaucracies, both corporate, political, and religious.

As I talked, they all nodded their heads: They knew such individuals. "What do you call people like this?" I finally asked. "We call them old souls," the physician said. "We have great respect for such persons." They told me that in Hinduism's scenario of reincarnation, as people move from lifetime to lifetime toward the ultimate goal of God realization, they often die with "unfinished business." When such a person finally is getting close to their last few lifetimes, close to enlightenment, they often must engage in a search-and-find mission to touch and resolve all those people and situations that represent little threads and leftover bits from previous lives.

And behaviors characteristic of that mission, according to these men, are what Western medicine calls a "disorder." One of the businessmen laughed and shook his head. "You have very strange ways of seeing people," he said. "To mistake an old soul for a sick person. This is truly odd." Odd, indeed. You are holding in your hands a book for old souls, written by old souls. Authors Kate Kelly, Peggy Ramundo, and Steven Ledingham are sensitive, insightful, caring, and "diagnosable" people, with extraordinary compassion and understanding for the special skills, insights, and challenges of adults with ADD

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From "You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid Or Crazy?!" By Kate Kelly & Peggy Ramundo. I no longer have this book; I leant it to someone and never got it back. Typical of me. If memory serves me this was written by a Mom of an ADD child and was one of the stories in the book:

Galaxy 298 Planet Press May 10, 2390

Scientists Debating Wisdom of TNT Gene Removal

Dr.Smarty is credited with the original discovery in 2275 of the illusive TNT gene that caused impulsivity, distractibility and poor reinforceability.The discovery of this gene and the subsequent development of a surgical procedure to remove it from patients constituted a major scientific breakthrough.

With this discovery scientists made great strides in eliminating most maladaptive behaviors. But in a recent Gene Removal Conference, scientists from around the galaxy gathered to Debate the wisdom of the decades old TNT gene removal project.

The original discovery was welcomed by people everywhere. Society did not know what to do with people who were born with this gene. Many of these people failed to contribute to the goals of the community, refusing to attend the Intergalactic Training Academy and never fulfilling their responsibilities in society. Half the people in our prisons exhibited these maladaptive behaviors as did some who were addicted to illegal drugs and alcohol. Therefore it was reasoned that if the gene that caused these dysfunctional behaviors could be eliminated, these people would be relieved of their suffering and society as a whole would greatly benefit.

So the Gene Removal Project was undertaken in 2290 to eliminate this troublesome gene from the Galaxy's populations. Initially this appeared to be a wise decision. Fewer school children displayed behavior and learning problems. No longer inattentive, they readily acquired great knowledge. Eliminating the insatiability of these children caused a significant reduction in the rates of juvenile delinquency because these individuals were no longer driven to seek out adventures. But as a fourth generation of children whose TNT genes were surgically removed reach maturity, some rather disturbing facts can no longer be ignored.

Largely unnoticed in the early stages of the gene removal project, scientific research and discovery have gradually slowed and come to a virtual standstill. Without the insatiable curiosity to drive the scientific process, increasing numbers of scientists have become content with the status quo. Only now are people in our society becoming aware of the glaring absence of new scientific and medical discoveries since the project began. There has been a parallel decrease in the numbers of new developments in business and industry.

It is now hypothesized that when impulsivity was erased, people were no longer capable of taking risks. Virtually no new management systems have been introduced since the project began. The technology used today has evolved little from that used many years ago. There appears to be yet another troubling byproduct of the TNT Gene Removal Project. Many members of our society at large report a general discontent with their lives and the communities in which they live.

Paralleling the elimination of impulsivity, spontaneity seems to; have disappeared from their lives. There is no more adventure. The lives of many people in our society are well-planned but mundane-it have been many years since anyone has climbed a mountain or explored a cave.

The world of literature, art and music also appear to have suffered. Since the elimination of distractibility, people have not been compelled to write imaginative poetry, paint the colors of a sunset or compose beautiful songs,

It is impossible to ignore the benefits enjoyed by our society in the years since the removal of the TNT gene Without the troubling maladaptive behaviors caused by this gene, life have become significantly more orderly. But the behavior of many of our citizens is beginning to resemble that of computer robots.

The recently held meeting was to study the data compiled in the years since the project began. The questions raised at the Gene Removal Conference can be summarized as follows:

"Has Science created deficient machines, lacking in creativity and initiative? Has Society killed personality in the name of order?"

The scientists in attendance were in unanimous agreement that the answer to these questions is, "Yes". It was noted in the records of the proceedings that the Gene Removal Project may have had some unexpected negative results and that future scientist might at some point choose to revisit the decision.

This journalist is concerned that a third more important issue was not raised:

"How can we put the gene back?"

Unfortunately even the brightest of our scientists appear satisfied to inquire no further than to simply review and comment on existing data, so things are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

After all, there is no one with the passion and imagination to ask the questions...

Please feel to contact me by email: irene.paradigmshift@gmail.com