Biography
“You don’t seem like you have ADD.” That’s one of the most common things I hear when I tell people I have attention deficit disorder. I think what they mean is “You certainly don’t seem hyperactive.”
And I’m not. I'm more likely to sit paralyzed on my leafy green couch than to bounce on it. But you don't have to squirm a lot to have ADD. A lot of us—especially girls and women—don't have the hyperactivity piece.
I do have an ADD life history: I've composed award-winning piano music and hoed fields of organic lettuce, copyedited major computer magazines and counseled birth parents about adoption. I've earned two master's degrees, and I've married twice. At age 42, I gave birth to a daughter who, at age 6, informed us that she's half-cheetah. And I have thirty boxes of old papers in my garage.
I could be the poster child for disorganization and underachievement. But I also have some of the positive traits that go with ADD—things like creativity, determination, and a quirky sense of humor.
This blog explores life with ADD, with a focus on girls and women, adults, parenting with ADD, and ADD's more slug-like form, officially called "predominantly inattentive type." (Don't take that slug characterization as a put-down! I have a thing about banana slugs.)
I'd love the blog to serve as a sort of online support group as well. As long as you keep it respectful, please add your voice. Let's work together to accept ourselves and our loved ones with ADD and to harness all that quirky creative energy!