The other night Ari Tuckman, PsyD presented the TeleSeminar Adult ADHD and Building Self-Esteem through ADDClasses.com. It was an excellent class which I highly recommend. One thing that Dr. Tuckman brought up that didn’t sit well with some people was that research suggests that ADHD is only a neurobiological condition and does not come with any "gifts". People with ADHD like everybody else do have talents, strengths, and gifts but it’s not because of the ADHD.
As a person with ADHD I have Strengths, Talents and "Gifts". In all honesty I don’t know where they came from. Maybe I have them because I have ADHD. Maybe I have them because I was born with my sun in Pisces and my moon in Sagittarius. Maybe I have them because the sky is blue. Maybe the Gift Fairy brought them to me one night while I was sleeping. I could go on and on about where they came or why I have them but I really don’t see the point in doing so.
As both an ADHD Coach and a person with ADHD where my or my clients "gifts" came from really isn’t that important to me. What is important it that we have the self-esteem, the skills, and the systems in place to actually use those "gifts". What good are these gifts if we can’t use them? I know that I want to devote my time and energy to help find solutions and strategies to use the gifts instead of finding out where they came from.
By the way, if you missed Tuesday’s Teleseminar you can listen to now by subscribing to the ADD Audio Library!