ADD A to Z: Your Guide to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Download Your Copy Today

Tent caterpillars create a cocoon
for an entire colony. Within one colony there are two types of caterpillar. One
type, pioneers, weave long threads forming the skeleton of the tent. The others,
the workers, weave cross threads filling in the structure. If there are too many
pioneers, the tent is too big and collapses. If there are not enough pioneers,
the tent is too dense and the colony suffocates. Viva la difference.



Within the colony of human beings we can find similar differences. Some are
explorers, entrepreneurs extending the boundaries of our environment in art,
science, or business. The rest fill in the details as accountants or managers.



As a manager you know that creativity is the quality which enables your company
to expand and improve products, services and processes. The best salespeople,
strategic planners and inventors are creative people who generate a steady flow
of ideas. However, creativity may come with other features which are not so
desirable such as impulsiveness, lack of organization of ideas, paper, and time,
and social problems in communication and relationships at work or at home.



SAM WAS THE BEST SALESMAN the company had ever seen, but his boss was about to
fire him because he couldn't get the paper work done.



MARY WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIC PLANNER at work, but at home she couldn't
clear up after dinner, her husband had to teach her how to put things away.



ANDREW WAS AN EXPERT IN HIS FIELD, but in his head he felt like a fraud. The
dissonance between his expert status and his mental image of himself led him to
a severe depression and two years of lost work.



OR MAYBE YOU HAD TO FIRE MICHEL. He was just too argumentative. He was always
antagonizing someone. No one would work with him in a team. Too bad because his
work was excellent.



Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)* is a neurological difference in the brain
which causes difficulties with the executive functions of planning,
prioritizing, decision making, organizing, time management and more. It touches
from 3 to 5% of the adult population ( Kevin Murphy, associate professor of
psychiatry and chief adult :ADHD clinician at the University of Massachusetts
Medical Center in Worcester) and appears frequently in the fields where
creativity is required. To state this another way: the positive asset of
creativity and the negative problems are two sides of one coin.



We all feel disorganized, forgetful, or at odds with the world some of the time,
but for those affected, ADD is a quality of life issue which is of long
duration. One of their most common complaints is a feeling of being out of joint
with their surroundings. They may feel frustrated by their own failure to
achieve and deceived because they can't make effective use of their potential.
They have great difficulty harnessing their many ideas and bringing them to
completion.



From your point of view, as a manager, ADD can be a question of lost
productivity and accidents. You probably hired them because they were
passionate, intelligent, full of ideas, and had great energy (all typical
qualities of ADD), but once on the job the difficulties appear. Now you may
consider them lazy or irresponsible due to frequent absenteeism, lateness, below
average productivity, missed deadlines, or senseless conflict.



Or you may see another picture, a person whose work is excellent, but is working
exceptionally long hours for the work done, seems overly sensitive to comments,
may be having difficulty in his private life due to poorly managed finances or
friction with his spouse, or appears to have a problem with alcohol or even
drugs.



The first step for such a person (and it may be you, the manager) is a medical
diagnoses by a doctor who is knowledgeable in ADD. If the diagnoses is for ADD,
the doctor will prescribe one of several medications. Medication helps the brain
to function effectively, but it may not be sufficient. The second step is to
seek the help of a coach trained in ADD who can help him see where and how ADD
is affecting his life and guide him in developing strategies for managing the
issues and using his strengths.



HERE ARE SOME TIPS for dealing with employees who may be affected by ADD.



*--Recognize that the problem is not willful disobedience or moral failure but
of neurological origin.



*--Provide lots of positive encouragement and guidance; negative criticism they
give themselves.



*--Help them adapt their working environment to their personal needs.



*--Provide support systems to help with the paper work and other detail tasks
which are stifling for people with ADD.



*--Provide a coach knowledgeable in the problems of ADD. Coaching for ADD
focuses on understanding how ADD affects the client and on building structures
to manage daily tasks.



To conclude, Mr. or Ms. Manager, if you are concerned about your productivity
level or bottom line, look for your employees' strengths and help each one to do
what he/she is good at and they will reward you richly.



________________________________________



* Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD) is not a helpful name. It is not about a
deficit of attention but about an inconsistency of attention. A person with ADD
can pay attention very well to things that are interesting and therefore
stimulating, but they have difficulty controlling their attention in situations
in which they find no stimulation.



Attention Deficit and/or Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is the current term as
defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) of
the American Psychiatric Association. The current understanding of researchers
is that there are two different problems, attention deficit and hyperactivity
which may occur together or separately. Hyperactivity is well known as a problem
in boys, but it usually subsides in adolescence; problems of attention tend to
persist in adults.









About the Author

Sarah Jane Keyser is an ADHD coach with an international practice who helps
adults and adolescents find joy and fulfillment with ADHD. Feel free to use this
article as long as you include author's bio and a live link to her website.

Learn more about ADHD at

http://www.CoachingKeytoADD.com or sign up for Zebra Stripes, a free E-zine
for ADHD at

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