Food for thought... The Advantages of Attention Deficit I read a most encouraging article in The New York Times recently called “A Natural Fix for A.D.H.D”. It reminded me of a music industry student who sought me out the day before he attended my first class. As I recall, he said, “Professor Del Colliano, I have four different types of attention deficit diagnosed”. To which I replied, “Well don’t you worry, we’ll work with them”. But I’ll never forget his response which was “Oh, it’s not a disadvantage. It’s an advantage”. And the Times article went on to suggest that people with attention deficit – an estimated 11% between the ages of 4 and 17 may simply be craving more excitement, more stimulation. Plainly put, they may be bored. That’s why a smart professor will lose those PowerPoint slides and do interactive teaching. And why we shouldn’t define our children as being damaged when they actually may be more suited for a different age – the hunter/gatherer era of history in which they would have been best suited to the dangers of life before our agrarian society was born 1,000 years ago. Take the limits off. Rest the preconceived notions. We’re treating people who are good and smart and loving and kind as if they had a disease when it may well be that their minds are restless and looking for new challenges. Every “disadvantage” has an “advantage” – that is the main lesson of life.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 11:23:56 +0000
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