iPad Sketch #3: Two Pumpkins For Pumpkin

Originally published at Absentminded Author, v2.



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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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The End of One Ride. The Beginning of Another.

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WARNING: This column contains sarcasm, humor, and a bit of wit. Just a bit. Being launched into the temporary spotlight of Blogger's Blogs of Note has been a fun ride and a great way to end the first year of this column. I have had my words read by thousands of people and I have met others who, like me, laugh a bit at our ADD selves as we bumble about through life. I'm not alone after all, and that is a wonderful feeling. I've also been introduced to various viewpoints which have given me reason to look at old problems in a new light. Unfortunately, a very vociferous minority disagrees with me. I don't take issue with their opposite viewpoint. I just don't think much of their debating tactics. Mostly they've "cleverly" quoted my words back at me, or misquoted them back at me as is usually the case. Sometimes, though, they tell me what I "really" mean. In fact, this minority doesn't really read my words as much as try to read m...
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Hallowell and Ratey's Diagnostic Criteria for ADD in Adults

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If you have ever found yourself putting the milk away in the cereal cupboard on a regular basis or reading a magazine in the lobby long after that meeting you were supposed to be at started and wondered whether you have ADD or ADHD or AD/HD or Hyper Kinesis or Minimal Brain Dysfunction or whatever they're calling it this year, you could do no better for yourself than to turn to Doctors Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey for diagnosis. I have long linked to their classic book on ADHD, " Driven to Distraction ", on my site and have used their list of criteria as fodder for many articles. Their book explores the phenomenon of ADHD through the cases of Dr. Hallowell and provides in depth descriptions of the various aspects of this disorder. I found the book revelatory and insightful, even comforting. I especially found it useful in providing words for me to help explain myself better to my wife in the early years of our marriage. I am much more articulate now than I was...
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