A Rose By Any Other Name…

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v2.




iPad sketch in Bamboo Paper.

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AD/HD: Speaking without Thinking

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I would like to thank Blogger for selecting my column as a Blog of Note . I am thrilled to find so many like minded individuals making the comments section an intellectual treat. Curse you! I haven't been able to get anything done for a whole week. One of the comments from last week's column was a terse reprimand by a woman (I assume) who urged me to not think so much and do instead. Ignoring the fact that her short comment judged my life by only the words of a humorous column I write each week, she also showed a lack of understanding of the AD/HD mind. Not think so much? If there is any one defining aspect of AD/HD it is the lack of contemplative thought before action is taken. We are masters of the instantaneous impulse. Take today's subject matter for an example. There you are, grieving family members around you, the organ plays in the background, and you've got this really funny joke to tell. Happen to you? No, me neither, but I do know a guy who appa...
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ADHD: Bored of Boredom - Five Ways to Bear It. One Way to Beat It.

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Last week's column didn't strike a chord in as many people as others I've written. I can only think that is a good thing . There is hope for the survival of the species. We can't all live like maniacs at the far edge, dangling off cliffs, betting the house on a football game, juggling machetes , etc...but would you be surprised to learn that all that high stimulation activity is a subset of something you probably CAN relate to? The seventh symptom in Hallowell and Ratey's Diagnostic Criteria for Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults is: 7. An intolerance of boredom. A corollary of number 6 . Actually, the person with ADD seldom feels bored. This is because the millisecond he senses boredom, he swings into action and finds something new; he changes the channel. If there is one aspect of AD/HD I wish people who don't have it could fully understand it is the intolerance of boredom . One of the loudest complaints I have heard from people who don't have AD/HD ...
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AD/HD Kids Universally Hated By Parents

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One and a half weeks ago I put out a call for comments over at What Do You Like About Your AD/HD Kid? . It was my intention to collate all the loving anecdotes I received into a comprehensive article on the benefits of having AD/HD children. To this date, not one parent has replied. Not even my Mum. Of course, I already knew she didn't like me. What I didn't realize was that AD/HD kids were globally loathed, despised, and detested by other parents. This has come as quite a shock. I assumed somewhere a loving, benevolent Cliff Huxtable-like father smiled patiently upon his sweet, little, whirling dervish as a gift from God. Now I know better. Fortunately for my article's sake, I have an AD/HD child. She hasn't been officially diagnosed, but you know what they say about ducks. Let me show you folks how this is done.     Dang. This is harder than it looks. This is going to be one short article... Thirteen Things I Love About My AD/HD Daughter Her deli...
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