The Class Clown & ADD

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

I was that kid, the class clown. You know what I’m talking about……the kid at the back of the class room who always had the funny comment, on occasion is told to leave the classroom and go to the Principal’s office or is revered to the highest heights with the laughter of his classmates. Yup, that was me. Do I owe it all to ADD? Perhaps. Part of it may also be that I am Canadian, so naturally, I’m funny! How can anyone argue that? Funny Canadians like John Candy, Howie Mandel, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Carrey, Cheech & Chong, Michael Cera, Michael J Fox, Phil Hartman, Eugene Levy, Norm Macdonald, Mike Myers, Leslie Nielsen, Catherine O’Hara, Russell Peters, Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogen, Martin Short and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels are just a few to support my theory.

However, this isn’t about me creating a platform to promote the Canadian sense of humour (humor if you are American). As noted on Pete Quily’s ADHD Blog The Positive’s of ADHD , this is about the highlighting the fact that many people with ADD/ADHD are adventurous, courageous, like to live outside of boundaries, like to be the centre of attention, are confidence, creative, fun to be around, are impulsive (in a good way), not afraid to act, optimistic, outgoing, quick thinking and quick witted. So the next time you experience or hear about that kid in the back of the classroom who is acting up like the class clown, remember underneath it all there is a possibility there just might be a little ADD below the surface and it’s how that kid is choosing to express himself. That kid may just end up being the next Jim Carrey, Ryan Reynolds or Seth Rogen. Hey, lets not forget about William Shatner!!

Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Class clown is not a paid position.
Thanks for understanding me Mrs. Rapien, you were the best teacher I ever had!

Share
Email
Posted in Random Thoughts, Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Childhood ADHD Tied to Adult Anatomic Brain Changes

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

From The Doctors Lounge.com “Adults with combined-type childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have a significantly thinner cortex and reduced gray matter, regardless of their current diagnosis, according to a study published in the November issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Adults with combined-type childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a significantly thinner cortex and reduced gray matter, regardless of their current diagnosis, according to a study published in the November issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Erika Proal, Ph.D., from the New York University Langone School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues investigated whether adults with combined-type childhood ADHD have anatomic brain differences, and assessed the correlation between these differences and current ADHD diagnosis, including persistent versus remitting ADHD. Magnetic resonance images were obtained for 59 male probands aged 6 to 12 years, and 80 comparison participants free of childhood ADHD. Analysis was carried out in a 33-year prospective follow-up when the participants had a mean age of 41.2 years. The investigators found that, in ADHD probands, the cortex was significantly thinner in the dorsal attentional network and limbic areas, and the gray matter was significantly decreased in the right caudate, right thalamus, and bilateral cerebellar hemispheres compared to the control group. There were no significant differences seen in probands with persistent or remitting ADHD. At an uncorrected P value of <0.05, those with remitting ADHD had thicker cortex in the medial occipital cortex, insula, parahippocampus, and prefrontal regions compared to those with persistent ADHD.

“The most affected regions underpin top-down control of attention and regulation of emotion and motivation. Exploratory analyses suggest that diagnostic remission may result from compensatory maturation of prefrontal, cerebellar, and thalamic circuitry,” the authors write.

Share
Email
Posted in Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Your Job Will Never Love You

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

Time to dust off an old post I did and offer up a classic example of self plagiarism…..although technically that really doesn’t exist. Just having some word fun! Have you ever been in a toxic job? Let me tell you, I was recently. Unrealistic expectations and a boss who was unbearable. What a nightmare!! It impacts your sleep, heightens levels of stress and creates an environment that becomes counterproductive. A good sense of humor helps!!!

As ADD Coach Pete Quily said on his site regarding the toxic job, “The worst kind of toxic job is the gradual one. The golden or velvet handcuffs. (no, nothing to do with S&M). The job where the money and or the benefits trap you.“

When your happiness and professional goals are at stake, you need to look closely at the toxic job and make some serious decisions and determine if it’s right for you, or not. The toxic job causes issues for everyone. For people with ADD, it can manifest on top of some of the challenges some people face with the many traits of ADD. Understand what your ADD challenges are and how the toxic work place can impact you. It’s your life…… and life is too short to let the wrong work environment impact your life negatively. An old boss once told me, “your job will never love you“. So true.

Share
Email
Posted in Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Schedules & When ADD Is Not ADD

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

I came across a thought provoking article by Dr. Art Hister that got me thinking about how some people manage and bring up their kids, and how it relates to ADD/ADHD. Specifically, I loved his comments about kids needing schedules…..the same holds true for adults too, especially with ADD. On his blog, Dr Hister wrote “In an interesting study about ADHD, the researchers conducted interviews with 704 parents, mostly mothers, of kids aged 2 to 13. The researchers asked a lot of questions about the kids’ behaviour, their sleeping schedules (or lack of same) and about whether the kids had ever been diagnosed with ADHD or if a teacher or some other adult had suggested that their child should be treated for ADHD.

According to the lead researcher, a substantial number of kids in this study had been diagnosed with ADHD but their real problem was the lack of a sleep schedule because the kids were either allowed to go to bed on their own schedule or they slept with a sibling or with a parent, which is pretty much the same thing, given that kids who sleep with either siblings or their parents are very likely to stay awake considerably longer than kids who sleep by themselves. In other words, says this researcher, at least some kids who’ve been diagnosed with ADHD are really only sleep-deprived since many of the symptoms of ADHD are similar to those of a kids who are inappropriately aroused.
2 points:
1) I’m not sure this is nearly as common a problem as the authors of this study would have us believe, but I do believe that a substantial number of kids are misdiagnosed with ADHD simply because for whatever reason – sleep deprivation, perhaps, but just as likely what we might call excessive enthusiasm – their behaviour exceeds what the authorities who look out for those kids deem appropriate in those circumstances.
2) Kids need schedules. Period.”
The original article can be see here.

Share
Email
Posted in Public Talks, Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Planning: The Foundation For Success With ADD

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

For an ADD’er, planning is the foundation to building success with anything we set out to accomplish. Not having  a plan is the beginning of when things start to go wrong for people who are challenged with ADD/ADHD. That place where someone has started down the path of starting a task and things go wrong creates stress, a sense of disorganization, frustration, a scattered world and usually sends that person into a tail spin of inefficiency. Suddenly, the pressure sets in and the stress builds. For many ADD’ers, this is when the wheels fall off. The importance of establishing a plan to work through a task is paramount. I find the simplest way to accomplish this is with two steps; 1) Schedule it or specific tasks in my Outlook calendar and 2) I create “to-do” lists. The combination of these two simple steps really keeps me on track and well planned out. The end result, I avoid placing myself in a situation where I create my own stress, I’m focused and it releaves pressure. A proactive approach to planning how we tackle tasks and “to-dos” makes a big difference.

Share
Email
Posted in Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Short & Sweet

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

It’s a short and sweet post today. I came across a great video on YouTube today called I have ADHD and I AM… check it out.

 

Share
Email
Posted in Internet, Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Motivation, Exercise and ADD / ADHD on ADD Support Talk

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

If you have time on Tuesday October 25th, join Tara McGillicuddy as she welcomes back Robert Tudisco to ADHD Support Talk Radio to discuss Exercise, Motivation and ADD / ADHD. Learn what Robert Tudisco, executive director of the Edge Foundation is doing to help out the ADD / ADHD community.  Also learn how you can get involved by managing your own ADD / ADHD and helping others affected by ADD / ADHD.

 

Share
Email
Posted in Internet, Interviews, Podcasts, Public Talks, Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

First Canadian City To Proclaim ADHD Awareness Week is Vancouver

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

It’s about time! Here is some great news from Pete Quily’s blog about adults with Attention Surplus Condition (aka ADHD). Pete writes “8 years of ADHD Awareness Weeks/days in the US starting with the original nation resolution in the US Senate in 2004.  Zero ADHD Awareness Weeks/days in Canada. None at the Federal level. None at the provincial level. None at the municipal level.

But I’m happy to report that on Tuesday Oct 18th The Vancouver City Council declared the week of October 16th to 22nd, 2011 as “ADHD AWARENESS WEEK” at a ceremony at Vancouver city hall.  Mayor Gregor Robertson read out the resolution and I and Parks Commissioner Sarah Blyth who has  gone public on having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder spoke after. Just before the ADHD Awareness week proclamation the outgoing Vancouver Poet Laureate Brad Cran in his final speech and poem to council went public that he had ADHD. Great timing! Thanks Brad. I’ll do a post later on that.

Usually it takes several months to get city hall to do a proclamation. But I worked with Vision Vancouver Parks Commissioner Sarah Blyth who had recently gone public with ADHD and Vision Vancouver city councillor Andrea Reimer to get this through on short notice and we were able to make this happen. Thanks Sarah and Andrea. And thanks to all the city councillors from all 3 parties who made this happen, Vision Vancouver, COPE, and NPA Vancouver.” Read Pete’s original article here

Share
Email
Posted in Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Wild’n Crazy Guy & Morning Workouts

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

I’ve posted more times than I can recall about the benefits of managing ADD when we exercise. So much can be accomplished, we just need to get our bodies in motion. Exercise has proven to deliver many physical, emotional, mental and overall health benefits. For me, I’ve been very dedicated to ensuring I make time for my exercise routine daily, I’m living proof that it helps manage ADD. It’s pretty good for your sex drive too!!

Over the past year, life seems to have been turned up a notch regarding being a little busier. Whether it is kids, career or the many other things that happen in my life, making time to get my work out in is now something that is planned and scheduled. I’ve found myself moving many of my workouts to an early morning time and I must admit…..I’ve become accustomed to this change. Over the years I’ve always been a late morning or lunch workout kind-of-guy, not to be confused with Steve Martin’s wild’n crazy kind-of-guy. If you don’t know who Steve Martin  is, check his wild’n crazy kind-of-guy videos on YouTube.

Through being forced to juggle my schedule like  a circus performer and plan some early morning workout times, I’ve discovered I get those increased production levels of endorphins and dopamine going first thing in the morning now. Once our brains are stimulated by endorphins and dopamine, it starts to get those brain neurotransmitters firing. With that, we think clearer and naturally combat some of the challenges of ADD. That’s a pretty good way to start the day and it really allows me to carry that positivity forward into my day for maximum productivity, focus and fun!

Share
Email
Posted in Exercise, Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Angry ADD Email

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton

A few years ago, I posted here on my blog about Email Impulsiveness. I was reminded again this week about ADD, impulsiveness and emailing. Fortunately, I made a cool and collected decision, which I wouldn’t have made a number of years ago…..good thing we have the ability to learn and grow. However, many ADD’ers struggle controlling that verbal impulsiveness and that spills into the email world too. In today’s age of technology, this impulsiveness must now be controlled on the Internet, specifically with email.

Whether it is a personal or work related email, we’ve all received the type of email that makes you want to respond back with fury and give someone a piece of your mind! Controlling that impulsiveness is very important on email. There is a lot of potential for an email to be misunderstood or misinterpreted. As an ADD’er, I have adopted a strategy that allows me to respond and not regret what I have written. Here are a few tips I follow to manage this:

1) Keep cool, the understanding or intent of the message may not be understood
2) Create your response in a Word document first, to avoid sending something by accident. It also allows you to cool down and gather your thoughts.
3) Once you have formatted your response, save it and come back to it later. It may offer you a different perspective and allow you to respond more effectively.

Share
Email
Posted in Internet, Thoughts on ADD | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment