The other day I was driving in my car and noticed that the speedometer was not working at all. This is not to say this was the first time I noticed it not working it was just the first time it wasn’t registering at all. For a few months now it has been doing weird things like not going past 30 mph when I knew I was traveling over 60 mph. Then it all of a sudden it worked fine for a while.
When it was registering with the wrong speed I felt little confused but still has a bit of an idea how fast I was going. Driving with it not registering at all was making me crazy. I knew that if I traveled at or below the speed of traffic that I was probably not going over the legal speed limit. I still had no idea how fast I was traveling though.
This is the same type of feeling I get when I am somewhere and do not have access to a clock. If I follow others who I am with I have an idea when it’s time to leave but I don’t really know how much time has past. Like the speedometer a clock is a powerful tool that helps me measure time.
This situation with my speedometer really got me thinking about how beneficial simple tools can be to people with ADD. It also makes me think about the fact that is really is OK that we use tools to compensate for our weaknesses. I am not expected to be able to know how fast I am going in my car on my own and so my car comes with something to tell me.
If I need a tool to help me with weaknesses associated with having ADD then I am by all means going to use that tool.