Read Online You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!: The Classic Self-Help Book for Adults With Attention Deficit Disorder by Kate Kelly, Peggy Ramundo - Free Book Online
Authors: Kate Kelly, Peggy Ramundo
Tags: General, Psychology, Self-Help, Personal Growth, Health & Fitness, Diseases, Nervous System (Incl. Brain), Mental Health
Ads: Link
processing of a specific learning disability.
Spatial problems aren’t limited tosports activities and directionality. They also have an impact on organization. An ADD adult often lives with a daunting amount of clutter and disorganization. Even when he slows down to take the time to tidy up, he faces a nightmarish task of figuring out what to do with his chaotic surroundings. He may dream of having enough money to hire the right person to organize all the stuff in his lifeso he can get on with the business of living.
The ADD brain seems to have trouble sorting and filing . We ADDers tend to focus on all the exceptions to the orderly rules of the world. We play a perpetual game of “But what about …?” It’s difficult to organize either space or a filing system without an ability to decide which things belong together.
Memory also plays a role in an ADDer’s spacetroubles. Before hecan organize his belongings, he has to remember where they are. After he finds them he still has to figure out what to do with them!
Some of us dismiss the effect of clutter on our lives, assuring ourselves that tidiness is simply a waste of time. Others become obsessed with putting things in order and have time for little else. Although neither course of action is particularlyhelpful, problems with spatial organization are common for many of us with ADD.
The ADDer’s environment is a confusing one over which he constantly struggles to gain a semblance of control. A certain degree of order is important for emotional well-being. Preventing the overwhelming feelings of confusion that result from untamed piles of junk is an important goal.
Information Processing
Someof the differences of ADDers can be understood within the context of information processing. How do we think about and act on the information we receive from the environment? Do we have unique ADD thinking and acting styles? To answer these questions and examine other differences in ADD adults, we’ll use the theory of systems as a working model of the brain’s functions.
Systems consist of assortedparts organized into a whole to serve a function or reach a goal. Every system uses energy and resources from the environment as its input. It transforms, or processes, the input into an alternative form called output and sends it back to the environment.
A computer system takes input from humans by way of the keyboard. It processes it and produces new information as output on a printout. Similarly,the human brain receives input from the outside world through the senses, processes it and produces output in the form of words or actions.
If a computer malfunctions, we look at the three parts of the system to find out what’s wrong. Human error can interfere with input if information is keyed incorrectly. A problem in theinformation processing of the computer itself may also exist. Finally,the output function can be flawed if there is a mechanical problem with the printer.
Breaking down the workings of the brain into these three components can help us better understand what’s happening when things go wrong. A significant problem for many of us with ADD is mismatched input, information processing and output capacities.
An ADDer can often process internal information rapidly buthas a less efficient capacity for the input and output functions. Problems with selective attention and filtering compromise the quality of input—getting information into his brain. Difficulties with impulsivity, activity levels, memory retrieval, motor control and rambling speech compromise the quality of output—effectively communicating or acting on the processed information. Let’s take a lookat how input/output weaknesses and internal processing strengths create some unique ADD differences.
Action and Inaction Imbalance
We know that as ADD adults, we have problems with attention. That’s why our disorder is called an Attention Deficit Disorder. We have trouble with selective attention
Spatial problems aren’t limited tosports activities and directionality. They also have an impact on organization. An ADD adult often lives with a daunting amount of clutter and disorganization. Even when he slows down to take the time to tidy up, he faces a nightmarish task of figuring out what to do with his chaotic surroundings. He may dream of having enough money to hire the right person to organize all the stuff in his lifeso he can get on with the business of living.
The ADD brain seems to have trouble sorting and filing . We ADDers tend to focus on all the exceptions to the orderly rules of the world. We play a perpetual game of “But what about …?” It’s difficult to organize either space or a filing system without an ability to decide which things belong together.
Memory also plays a role in an ADDer’s spacetroubles. Before hecan organize his belongings, he has to remember where they are. After he finds them he still has to figure out what to do with them!
Some of us dismiss the effect of clutter on our lives, assuring ourselves that tidiness is simply a waste of time. Others become obsessed with putting things in order and have time for little else. Although neither course of action is particularlyhelpful, problems with spatial organization are common for many of us with ADD.
The ADDer’s environment is a confusing one over which he constantly struggles to gain a semblance of control. A certain degree of order is important for emotional well-being. Preventing the overwhelming feelings of confusion that result from untamed piles of junk is an important goal.
Information Processing
Someof the differences of ADDers can be understood within the context of information processing. How do we think about and act on the information we receive from the environment? Do we have unique ADD thinking and acting styles? To answer these questions and examine other differences in ADD adults, we’ll use the theory of systems as a working model of the brain’s functions.
Systems consist of assortedparts organized into a whole to serve a function or reach a goal. Every system uses energy and resources from the environment as its input. It transforms, or processes, the input into an alternative form called output and sends it back to the environment.
A computer system takes input from humans by way of the keyboard. It processes it and produces new information as output on a printout. Similarly,the human brain receives input from the outside world through the senses, processes it and produces output in the form of words or actions.
If a computer malfunctions, we look at the three parts of the system to find out what’s wrong. Human error can interfere with input if information is keyed incorrectly. A problem in theinformation processing of the computer itself may also exist. Finally,the output function can be flawed if there is a mechanical problem with the printer.
Breaking down the workings of the brain into these three components can help us better understand what’s happening when things go wrong. A significant problem for many of us with ADD is mismatched input, information processing and output capacities.
An ADDer can often process internal information rapidly buthas a less efficient capacity for the input and output functions. Problems with selective attention and filtering compromise the quality of input—getting information into his brain. Difficulties with impulsivity, activity levels, memory retrieval, motor control and rambling speech compromise the quality of output—effectively communicating or acting on the processed information. Let’s take a lookat how input/output weaknesses and internal processing strengths create some unique ADD differences.
Action and Inaction Imbalance
We know that as ADD adults, we have problems with attention. That’s why our disorder is called an Attention Deficit Disorder. We have trouble with selective attention
Similar Books
