Top 10 Advantages of ADD in a High Tech Career

The Top 10 List

I believe there are many people who work in the high tech industry who have ADD, much more than the average of the population. Approximately five per cent of the population has ADD and 85 per cent of adults with ADD don’t know they have it. It seems to me ADD and the technology industry is a natural fit. The constant change of the high tech world can be stressful and troubling for some people but it’s often stimulating and energizing for the ADDer. A great source of Dopamine hits. Although, there are no specific statistics a number of other ADD experts I’ve talked to agree with my observation.

Many people only see the many problems associated with ADD, and many people, especially men avoid getting diagnosed for ADD. The delay in getting diagnosed is that some people portray it as an almost totally pathological condition, and they view it as just a weakness.

To put it into perspective, I thought I’d write a list of some advantages of having ADD in the wired world to help people in the industry recognize and develop their ADD related strengths as well as managing their ADD challenges.

I will go thru these considering I supposedly have ADD.. So I am told.. I will let you guys fill in the rest.

1. The Ability to Hyperfocus.

Hours of full engagement and concentration in a task, IF you find it interesting. You can get into the zone and be totally immersed in what you’re doing while the outside world disappears. When I went on the net for the first time in 1993 at an Internet cafe I got on the machine at 8 pm and around 4 am decided it was time to go home.

This is very very kick ass thing I have.. But there is a big downside to this also.

Case in point.. actually 2..

Upside:
I wanted to learn 3d to add a car into a fame called GTA III. I learned about 5 yrs of 3d in less than 8 months..

Downside:

I have a site called studyof911.com. I have had this site since august and I barely am touching it. I have had someone else do it because I don't want to learn php/mysql and other misc things like that to do cool things on the site that should be done. The reason is because its alot of coding and words and such.. Nothing to get around real fast.. Unlike 3d where you pull something and learn.

Now granted this isn't the 1st time I ran into this issue, 3/4 yrs back I faced this same issue and the same results. There are some thing people with ADD will not do.. altho I don't condone using drugs to achieve this either, prescription or otherwise.

2. Rapid Fire Mind.

Your brain processes information at hyperspeed. You can do things in 30 minutes on a computer that might take other people hours. Downside if you’re stuck with an old machine and not enough RAM you’ll be frustrated cause it can’t keep up with the speed of your brain.

This goes with above. Reason I learned 3d real fast is cause I wanted to see the outcome of what would happen in game. So I worked very hard and very fast at trying to do this.

On the flip side its a bitch cause if you don't want to do it you wont. Unless you are forced at gunpoint to do it... Even then it wont help much.

3. Multitasking at Will.

Able to run 14 apps at a time and effortlessly switch between each without breaking a sweat. Able to do several projects at a time with ease.

4. High Energy Level.

You’re able to keep going on a project (if it’s interesting, ADDers are more into creative and entrepreneurial activities than clerical and repetitive ones). 14-hour days? No problem. Adrenaline is my fuel source

This is true in both cases. At the time I could do about 8 things at 1 time. I was also able to stay and do this 24 32 sometimes 48 hrs at some kicks with very little time for sleep.

5. Highly Creative.

Able to think beyond the idea of a box. This comes naturally for ADDers, while others pay thousands of dollars to try and learn this. Since you take in more information than the average person, and you’re easily distractible, you’re more likely to view a problem from many different angles than vanilla people (non ADDers), and therefore come up with more possible solutions to a problem. Need an idea generator? Find an ADDer.

I guess this speaks for itself.. Things I have done/learned in 10 yrs.

3d art.(I cant draw for crap however on paper...)
Internet Radio
CT's (Conspiracy Theories) (To most CT'ists I have a question? Do you think about most things you talk about on ats or try and chat about things to other people to try and find a clean answer instead of just forming an opinion?)
Art Site
Painting Cars, Bodywork also.
Fascination with Death(NO I am not going to kill myself any century soon.. Sorry..)
History ( A true sense, not something a book tells me...)


Anyway since I am getting bored typing this.. I will maybe fill in the rest later or something..

I don't feel ADD is a problem, I consider it a gift, kinda like those kids in school that went to "Gifted" classes cause they were smart or something.. I think ADD is way better than that, if you can keep an ADD'ers attention on something, they can be VERY VERY smart in a short amount of time.

I also don't think drugs are the answer to this problem, I think that people have to seriously look at ADD and try and work with the people who have it instead of suppressing it.. Plus most of the drugs that they have out for these things are not even good for you..

So to parents who have kids with ADD try and make it fun for both of you, see what your kid is into, and have him try and excel at it until he gets bored.. Then try and find something else for him to do..




[edit on 12/2/2006 by ThichHeaded]

(To most CT'ists I have a question? Do you think about most things you talk about on ats or try and chat about things to other people to try and find a clean answer instead of just forming an opinion?)

Congrats Thich, You've discovered the way to start a long thread. Ask a question. Many long time members here still haven't discovered that and they have no idea why their threads die.

In answer to your question, I think about most of the things posted here and decide how they will effect my opinion. If someone can present an argument that can change my opinion, i'm open to that. I'm here to learn, not to teach.

I've yet to meet someone that could not teach me something, if only I will listen.

BTW, i've been diagnosed with ADD along with a few other choice things and I find it to be both a hindrince and a blessing. ADD is a bane when I try to write creatively, though I have unlimited creative thoughts to write about, I'm always off doing other things and don't write as I feel I should. (or would like to)

I just refuse to take the drugs they say I should be taking. (I hate drugs)

Love and light my friend,

Interesting.

I wonder how they determined the ADD diagnosis (med diagnosis or someone diagnosing based on observation). I think this is speculation, and possibly by someone who doesn't actually work in programming (for instance.) I've been a programmer and the best ones aren't the distractable ones.

I think it's an excellent idea to point out the strengths that people with ADD have... but I think it may need a more professional look at the situation (to make sure it's really ADD and not something else).

(puts it on a list of "hmm. things to look into when you have the time....)

Well I read the whole post and Id comment, but I wasn't payin attention

Wow, because of this thread I am now open to the possiblity that I might have ADD, i seem to exibit pretty much all of the symptoms you described and like mrwupy I too try to write creativly when i can getmyself to do it. Often times i am ten pages ahead of what i can type and i can type upwards of 65 wpm then i lose interest and move onto something else.

Originally posted by Byrd
I think it's an excellent idea to point out the strengths that people with ADD have... but I think it may need a more professional look at the situation (to make sure it's really ADD and not something else).

I want to point out again what Byrd brings up. One of the problems with ADD and related issues is who is doing the diagnosing. Not to take anything away from a general or family practice doctor, but that type of diagnosis should come from a specialist. Ritalin is way overprescribed and this may be one such reason.

Thanks for comments guys..

I want to point out a really sweet quality I have cause I didn't think before I reacted.

10. Risk Taker.

Impulsivity means you’re more willing to take risks and have a bias for action, act now while the opportunity is hot instead of getting into analysis paralysis.

Now do you really think if I would have actually thought this completely out I would have done this??

Chances are no...

BTW I learned how to do this at age 13..

[edit on 12/3/2006 by ThichHeaded]

Wow Thickheaded, what is it with boys and fire!

OK, I have a husband and 2 sons with ADD (in UK known as ADHD), so I know a bit about the good and the bad.

They all take meds, although different ones according to age, and the meds really help other people cope with them. My youngest boy, now 13, was diagnosed at age 4, and used to say he'd been born into the wrong world, where all the nasty people were. When I asked him how he felt when he started taking the meds he said people were much nicer to him.

Now his meds are tailored around his school day so that he can sit at his desk without rolling around, write 'almost' legibly, speak coherently and not at double speed and concentrate on what he's being told. That way he stands a good chance of getting exam results that reflect his true intellect and that allow him to pursue a career that he will really enjoy - unlike his father who walked out of school at 16 and has spent years since back at night school.

And the good bits? Well, open evening at school my boys teachers come and find me, they want to meet the parents, because they are just blown away by the way they think, the knowledge they have. I've lost count of the number of teachers who want to come sit at my dinner table and just listen to what we talk about.

So in our house, ADD rocks. We celebrate it, enjoy it, it's a gift.

Its suprising you have not been diagnosed for ADD ThichHeaded, because there is no doubt you have it.

I started taking meds for ADD my freshman year of high school, and without a doubt it was a good decision.

My grade point average was 2.0 when I started my freshman yr, by the middle of my sophomore yr it had increased to a 3.7.

I can say this from experience, untreated ADD makes school very frustrating. The teachers dont understand that your mind is moving at mach 10. It is almost impossible for them to comprehend, the way our mind works on paper.

The medication helps you to take your complicated response, and express it in a way that someone without ADD could understand.

Blitz, what drug/s you take... And how does it make you feel?

Adderall XR,
www.adderallxr.com...

I cant really explain how it effects me you will just have to see for your self.

Ill break down the negative side for you, loss of appetite, serious dry mouth and its hard to fall asleep.

But all of those negatives will only last the first few weeks you take the meds.

If you abuse the meds, thats when it will have serious side effects.

The meds have so many positive effects that I cant even start to explain it.

Originally posted by JackJuice
Wow, because of this thread I am now open to the possiblity that I might have ADD, i seem to exibit pretty much all of the symptoms you described and like mrwupy I too try to write creativly when i can getmyself to do it. Often times i am ten pages ahead of what i can type and i can type upwards of 65 wpm then i lose interest and move onto something else.

Same here, but since you've wrote pretty much all the basic points of what I was gonna say anyway, I'll leave it at that. I feel I need to do something else now.

a reply to: ThichHeaded

frustrating and difficult as add/adhd is to live with, i have to agree that it becomes a gift once you have made your peace with it.