Readers reading in this space last week will remember me saying there is a day for just about anything and everything in my commentary on “Walk to School Day.” No sooner had that paper hit the street another familiar topic from my life’s journey popped up in the email inbox. It seems that the month of October is ADHD awareness month. Not just a day, but the whole month!
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is defined by some as a “brain disorder that affects a person’s ability to focus, control their behavior, and sit still.” I’ve struggled with a little bit of that for 63, going on 64, years but I think calling it a disorder is a bit harsh. I always just told folks that I had some real thick, real hot blood flowing through my veins.
I’m not so sure I ever had the AD part, but there is no doubt I had/have the HD part. Pretty bad case, at times, too!
As a child I suppose the most damning effect of the HD would be the sight of my poor mother throwing her arms up in the air proclaiming loudly that I was about to “make her to have a nervous breakdown.” Sometimes her arms would even be bouncing off that big bouffant hair-do she had in the ‘60s and ‘70s so you know she was serious about what she was saying.
Another example would be a late family friend of my parents, trying to enjoy a nice smooth Tom Collins along with conversation, promising me a nickle for every minute I could go without saying anything. I never collected. Not once. A minute can be a very long time.
I would certainly be amiss to not mention a second or third grade school teacher, Mrs. Hand, taking over her first classroom out of college at Newton Elementary, and getting her feet wet with me as one of the students. I like to say I helped lift her onto the right path for all future classes. I did love her dearly and still do.
The HD also prompted/prompts, and will continue to prompt in the future, my dear wife, Danny, to ask me to please slow down quite frequently. “Why are you in such a rush,” she is apt to say. Just seems normal to me.
In the early years, my parents tried their best to cope, even opting for prescription medication which for me often has the opposite effect than that for which if is prescribed. They tossed those pills promptly.
I won’t even begin to go into some of the things in junior high and high school that darn HD suggested I should do, but will say it culminated my senior year with a principal with his hand around my throat tossing me into a trophy case and across a counter. His commentary at the time is not printable in a family newspaper. And, in my defense, in that particular case I was innocent!
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) defines ADHD as “a developmental disorder marked by persistent symptoms of inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity that interfere with functioning or development.
“Symptoms begin in childhood and can affect daily life, including social relationships and school or work performance. ADHD is well-known among children and teens, but many adults also have the disorder.” I can attest to that.
According to NIMH People with ADHD experience an ongoing pattern of:
• Inattention: Having problems staying on task, paying attention, or being organized, which are not due to defiance or a lack of comprehension.
• Hyperactivity: Being extremely restless or constantly moving, including in situations when it is not appropriate; excessively fidgeting or tapping; or talking too much.
• Impulsivity: Acting without thinking, interrupting others, or having difficulty with self-control. Impulsivity can also involve a desire for immediate rewards or an inability to delay gratification or consider long-term consequences.
I wouldn’t say all of that applies to my specific case, but enough certainly does. I would say that over time, most of the impulsive part has faded away, however that also involves a degree of self discipline.
The hyperactivity part, on the other hand, I’m not sure will ever go away, and there isn’t enough self discipline in me to put it to rest. I’ve often been accused of talking too much, but I think that has improved with age as well. My problem currently still seems to be that I just talk to darn fast at times.
For now I’ll just have to keep working on it, but I don’t really see any reason to stop talking any time soon. I mean, heck, you can’t buy anything with a nickle these days anyway — not even a whole roll of ‘em!
