The Advantages of an Attention Deficit

Consequences of ADHD
A cruel consequence of these attention disorders is the tendency towards low selfesteem.
Not being able to sit still, to wait your turn, to control your ability to focus – all
these things make children stand out in a crowd when they don't want to! In addition,
most of these children have great difficulty in reading the same social cues that most
children learn automatically, so they may inadvertently appear gauche or “weird”. These
children also are at greater risk for having additional psychological problems such as
anxiety, depression, and conduct disorder (a tendency to be chronically disruptive,
disobedient, often aggressive).
As adults, they are at a greater risk for divorce, job conflict and suicide than the general
population. Approximately 3-5% of children have ADHD and approximately 50% of
those children will carry significant challenges into adulthood.
Fortunately, these children can be very creative, and evolve into highly accomplished
adults. Perhaps because their thoughts tend to jump around more than most, they tend
to approach problems in unique ways. In fact, Mozart, Einstein and Edison are
suspected by many of having an attention disorder. It is important, as well, to realize
that the intellectual potential of these children is no different from that of the rest of the
general population.
There are lawyers, doctors, school principals – people from all walks of life – who have
successfully dealt with their ADHD challenges. Fortunately, many of the problems with
social awkwardness, chronic inattentiveness, and intrusiveness often respond well to
Page 19 of 145