I have a theory

People with ADHD are gifted.
I'm talking:
Psychic,
clairvoyent,
artists,
geniuses,
leaders,
inspirers,
musicians,
prophets...

This is my theory, and I am fighting for the truth of the matter.

This is my theory, and I'm out to save those that will bring positive change to the world.

I am declaring myself a warrior for the gifted and creatives, and all those that will bring light to this dreary world.

Please Sir Ken Robinson, hear this declaration, and help the world.

*** Everyone should get a Stumbleupon.com account

Stumbleupon.com
Do it.

That is a way to gloss over subjects you want, and be sent sites that you are interested in.
I happened to come across this almost perfect youtube video.

Kinderen voor Kinderen song - ADHD

Cutest boy, greatest coincidence.
One of the most recent comments read as such, and I thought it was a very interesting point.

"This show makes me tear up. I don't expect other Westernized Country Folk to understand. But well growing up here... God forbid America has any progressive messages to youth (let alone by youth) or even *gasp* on television. That would just be "unChristian."
- williamgascoyne

Here's One For the Parents: What doctors don't tell you.

ADHD Drugs vs. Possible Cures - Nutrition by Natalie

*** 4 Years Later

I'm in my senior year of college. I have papers due, posts due, movies due, tests to study for, scenes to memorize, journal entries to write, rehearsals to attend and practice for...I have a lot on my plate. And, it's been one of my busiest semesters in a long time.

Now, I remember when I was a freshman, 4 years ago. I tried to tackle just as much on my plate as I am now. I had school, rehearsals, and a huge social life, which was a major priority when I was younger.

On top of all these things, I was transitioning. I mean, we all were. First year of college is a major transition for anyone. But, I was coping differently. I had come to school with my best friend from home, (whoever tells you that is a good idea should be shushed before they can even get a word in.) And, we experienced a major falling-out by the end of the first semester. And, I became depressed, anxious and lost, coupled with my new found freedom at school, this was not a good mix.

What I started to do was terrible. I began taking Adderall recreationally everyday, for about 6 months, where I lost weight, remained focused and frantically "happy", and could socialize thoroughly all day without a hint of hesitation in this new, intimidating, lonely place where I had to "keep up" and feel good about it.

I stopped once I felt like I was losing control of the situation. My heart began double-beating regularly, and I seemed to have the taste of dry "death" in the back of my throat at all times, and all I could think about in the morning was taking it so I could feel good about starting my day. (That's the only way I could explain it.)

I quit. I had to. The medication was just as fulfilling as taking any black-market drug, and it took my young self a little while to realize it.

And you know where I got them? My room mate who was prescribed, addicted to cigarettes because of it, and always bountifully supplied. She could have run her own business selling them because she had so many.

ADDERALL MUST BE MADE ILLEGAL. CHILDREN MUST BE GIVEN A CHANCE TO DEVELOP, AND IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME THEY NEED.... I would have been defined as a drug addict, addicted to a legal substance given to children as early as age 4.

*** I want to ride my bicycle

I DO! I DO!! I want to ride my bicycle all day for hours, and not have to listen to youuuu!

That was a joke, but I really do want to ride my bicycle. Because, 1) I have a crap ton of energy, 2) The food that I eat gives me even more energy 3) I'm an independent adult and I can recognize when I want/need something for my health and how to get it, and 4) This routine I have (school, work, sleep) could make me a manic-depressive who overeats and hates everything eventually because she is in such a bad mood and creates a miserable outlook for herself and will probably resort to drugs, sex and alcohol just to stir things up a bit.

I have never gone to the doctor to check and see if I have ADHD, but if I did, I would probably get a "DIAGNOSED" stamped right across my forehead.

So drug me up, or just shoot me. I'm sorry that I need to be outside for the same amount of time that I'm inside in classrooms everyday. I'm sorry that I can have three different conversations at once. I'm sorry I prefer to multi-task and dare to test my limits. I'm sorry that the average classroom doesn't ground me enough so I can pay attention. I'm sorry that I fantasize about riding my bike with the wind in my hair and going as fast as I can go, when I'm supposed to be focusing on how to re-write my essay for the 3rd time.

But you know what? I get by. And, I'm not sorry that I spend my time the way that I want to.

No, DO NOT get me wrong. I love, love LOVE my education. It's been just as good as any other bike ride. But, all those things I listed previoulsy, THOSE THINGS would be all a child has to tell their parents, who will tell their doctor, and by the next day, the kid is going to be experimenting with doses of whatever drug seems fit.

But, who is the real problem?

How about we talk about public school's Physical Education programs, or lack thereof.

What does:
Young Children+ Minimal Excerisise at School+Current Food Trends= ???

Hyperactive, Attention-Deficit, Students.

Hm...

And you tell me why you think P.E. is one of the first programs to be cut in budget cuts, and the last programs to be added back, and a pharmeceutical industry backed by the government that's making billions off of kids with Hyperactive Attention-Deficit Disorders.

Here's an article to back me up about PE programs, but I doubt you even have to read it to know I'm asking the right questions.

School PE Programs in Sorry Shape

Amita

I went to Flagstaff, Arizona over the weekend, to give my own priorities up as an act of service, and I helped a woman open up her Mayan cacao shop. In giving myself, I released my selfishness, my answers, my ego, everything that we seem to have to hold on to to feel any sort of validity.

But, I became a completely selfless vessel to help someone with their greater cause. This shop is for the greater good. Instead of thinking forwardly at a constant, What am I supposed to be doing? How am I going to get it done in time?, I slowed down and gave myself to a cause that was entirely foreign to me for a week. And through it, I found myself.

I will leave the program I am in right now, to return to Screen Acting and get a B.F.A. in that program, in addition I will have a minor in Theater and a minor in P.R. and Advertising, and that is the path that I've been searching for.

No drug would make me feel better about what was not right in my own life. I needed to change it myself.

*** Ok...What ever hapened to your life purpose?

Now, I know that I may be in the minority that tries to establish revolutionary thoughts, ideas, and questions. But think about it. We begin our higher education (mostly) as an almost involuntary step that seems to be taken all too soon. So much money is spent, and even wasted, on an education that does not interest, help, or forward young minds into the world. How can you ask me what I want to major in at 18? People that are only entirely sure should be the ones that actually go ahead and begin school at 18.

Now, this is an opinion that I have had for a long time. But, still, I sit and slave away at my tasks, working to get this degree before I turn 22 like it's some kind of made-up marathon. Recently, though, I gave myself some time. A little bit of time to breathe, think, realize, understand, know, and see the path of my life that I have been steered off of, and must return to. And, if I didn't give myself that time, I would have still been living on a path that was killing me inside, for the purpose of appeasing those I had been taught I needed to; parents, teachers, the working force, the government, etc etc etc...

Now, this is a very prominent characteristic in my personality as well: I want to make people happy. So these issues were plaguing a very specific me, and I'm not going to force the idea that it applies to everybody.
But how many college students are graduating, and certain, like 100%, that they know what they are going to do when they get out? That they are TOTALLY and COMPLETELY SURE that they know EXACTLY what they are meant to do in this world, what their purpose is, and how they can be the absolute best at what they can be.

Not a lot.

And, you know. That's fine. Those are huge expectations to have on a young person at this point in their life. But, don't you think that we should be given more time to establish who we are? And, yes, I'm going to throw my point in now. Don't you think we should be given more time instead of being pumped with stimulants, ADD and ADHD suppressing drugs, and have to listen to what we have to do to be "good enough."

I have found a friend on the internet.

Geoff, has made me cry, and shares my vision.

The Addiction Spreads

I just talked to my roomate about my blog, and he had a scary story to tell me.

A friend of his, who will go unamed, is addicted to Adderall, and is not prescribed. He takes roughly 60 milligrams a day, and Somas at night so that he can fall asleep. If he doesn't get his Adderall that day, he drinks 4 monster drinks to compensate.

WTF

*** SIR KEN ROBINSON!!! HELP THEM SEE!!!

CHANGE OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS, SO THAT THEY WON'T PUMP THESE KIDS WITH DRUGS THAT AREN'T NEEDED!!!
This article says it all:

The Adderall revolution is written about, where "Adderall sales in the U.S. soared by more than 3,100 percent between 2002 and 2005, according to the Washington Post. Bootlegged at about $3 to $5 per pill, Adderall is both inexpensive and accessible."

Amphetamine-induced anxiety disorders.

Amphetamine-Induced Psychosis

Dependence

Tolerance of horrible side-effects

Withdrawl

LOSS OF CREATIVITY.
This is where our change agent comes in.

He MUST change our school systems, slow them down. The emphasis should not be the deadlines, the report cards, all the defining points of a good student in this over-stimulated society. Sir Ken Robinson already asks the question, "Are School's Stifling Creativity: Fertile Minds Need Feeding."

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT Sir Robinson. YOU HAVE THE POWER. GET ADDERALL OUT OF THE MARKETS AND OFF OUR MINDS AS AN ANSWER. I WANT YOU TO LEAD THIS CHANGE.

*** The Good Ones Knew It

"When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge."

Albert Einstein

My Change Agent

Let us take a deeper look into my blog's beloved change agent, Sir Ken Robinson.

He is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources. He has worked with national governments in Europe and Asia, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, national and state education systems, non-profit corporations and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. They include the Royal Shakespeare Company, Sir Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the Royal Ballet, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the European Commission, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the J Paul Getty Trust and the Education Commission of the States. From 1989 - 2001, he was Professor of Arts Education at the University of Warwick.

His 2001 book, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative (Wiley-Capstone), was described by Director magazine as ‘a truly mind opening analysis of why we don’t get the best out of people at a time of punishing change.’ John Cleese said: ‘Ken Robinson writes brilliantly about the different ways in which creativity is undervalued and ignored in Western culture and especially in our educational systems.’

(From his Wikipedia page)

Teamed with new things like the Kaplan "Talent Campaign," Sir Ken Robinson should inspire those in charge of the school systems, parents and teachers alike, to not ever believe that their children need to be put on mood altering drugs. We must CHANNEL that of which is rightfully ours, the high energy, utter excitement, the ambition to achieve what most would call irrational, passions for things that are our own, these were the voices of my classmates at The Marin School, and their dreams must be heard.

*** Killing Me Softly With Your Words

"Social network sites risk infantilising the mid-21st century mind, leaving it characterised by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathise and a shaky sense of identity, according to a leading neuroscientist.

The startling warning from Lady Greenfield, professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln college, Oxford, and director of the Royal Institution, has led members of the government to admit their work on internet regulation has not extended to broader issues, such as the psychological impact on children."

And on top of energy drinks, bad food, cigarettes, sedentary lifestyles, they want to pump us with Adderral and tell us we need that too.

Please listen to the audio link posted on this article, and learn more about your world.
I hope you have a facebook account. Lol.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=70427815574&h=AsGnZ&u=XADuA

*** What Are People Saying?

What do others, beside me, think about the diagnosing of A.D.H.D. in America?
Here's a poll.

http://www.helium.com/items/421227-are-children-overdiagnosed-with-attention-deficit-disorder

As you can see, most people are on the same boat as I am. So, let's seek this revolution. Let's allow those like Sir Ken Robinson to lead us in an understanding that all individuals, however different and peculiar they may be, have a worth to something; have great worth to something. And drugs should not be in the picture EVER as a personality or mood stabilizer.

I'll tell you right now, if anything is relative, it would be those two things: mood and personality.

Those drugs should be illegal. And mark my word, it will happen, and then the government will make more money regulating the black market of Adderral sales, and will gladly market it as the usual: War On Methamphetamines.

I'll LOL all over you

I just posted on this mans video, Paul Keen. He's making sure we know A.D.H.D. is a disorder we can't take too lightly, and that Phelp's is a perfect example.

He's talking about the bong and pot that Phelp's got caught with, saying that this was a clear result that his A.D.H.D. had stopped being successfully "managed." Sounds about as bogus as his hair. (Sorry fella).

Take a look at his youtube tutorial. You'll get the idea real quick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq8FeQOFfjM

My problem here is, all young men get stoned and hungry and go get a Subway footlong everyday. It's a normal (and yes I understand, illegal) thing to do. But this guy here is trying to 1) take the stance that smoking pot is a horribly moral and ethical disaster, and 2) Phelps only did it and got caught because he has A.D.H.D. So basically he's saying, "And Phelp's is the wierdo we must love and protect who has A.D.H.D. and was let out of sight of his Mommy to go and smoke the devil weed and get caught because his attention is too short to achieve anything more."

Ha.

Here's a link to Phelp's story, just to get everyone on the same page.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/sports/olympics/10Rparent.html

Day After St. Patrick's

I wish that there were more days, with more reasons, to experience life to some kind of standardized yet ultimate degree. Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and it began with taking a remarkably open and uplifting turn, as I ended up going with a bunch of fellow classmates into town, to kick off the celebrations.

We were excused from our everyday requirements. And socializing for hours in front of a Starbucks with fellow classmates that I loosely associated with was more valuable then the time I had spent with them all year . On that day, we were given time to breathe and just be ourselves, in the raw, with no worries about anything for at least an hour, and speak to one another openly about anything that was true to us. How nice it was.

Anyway.

Here are some interesting new finds. Although the Washington Post is probably going under, Kaplan Inc. is its subsidiary. You know those new commercials for Kaplan University? Well, I decided to invest in the Washington Post's stock because of Kaplan Inc.'s new "Talent Campaign." I think its going to be the most successful campaign for education yet. Take a look at a couple of their commercials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e50YBu14j3U&NR=1

"The world needs more talent than ever, yet it's being wasted everyday, by an educational system steeped in tradition and old ideas... It's time to realize that talent isn't just in schools like this one. It's everywhere...[We're going to] learn how you learn so we can teach you better."

This is the revolution we are all looking for. A.D.H.D. falls into the category of "tradition and old ideas." Western medicine has, for years, simply masked the symptoms of our disorders, pumping us with drugs and reversing our abilities to heal ourselves. True health comes from the inside out, and not the other way around.

Happy St. Patricks Day everybody.

"Quote Me"

Here's some stats given from the New York Times article "Weighing Nondrug Options for A.D.H.D." June 2007.

"2.5 million kids take stimulant drugs for attention and hyperactivity problems. But concerns about side-effects have prompted many parents to look elsewhere. As many as two-thirds of children with A.D.H.D. have used some form of alternative treatment."


Why the hell, then, are these kids put on these drugs in the first place? They suggest simple things like diet change, herbal therapy, vitamins, yoga and massage. The article states these treatments show promise, but there is not enough studies to help parents realize alternatives should be used first, and probably exclusively. They just have to sit there and suffer in question, (after their child has been detrimentally diagnosed) when the "Food and Drug Administration ordered in 2006 that stimulants like Adderall, Ritalin and Concerta [must] carry warnings of risk for sudden death, heart attacks and hallucinations in some patients."

Jesus.

*** Why this and not that, it's like that and like this ya'll.

Why did I choose to bring ADHD to such light? What about eating disorders, what about cosmetic surgery and body image, what about fast food and brain washing advertisements, sexism, domestic violence, capitalism. Why not talk about all these other things that seem to be like poison to the very spirit people are endowed with at birth.

Because I am currently up against the Information Age of America, where information is available to you rapidly, wholly and biastly. And, the underlying efforts of it all, are for us to "Keep up! Keep up!" But, what we forget is that, only a few people are at the forefront of these technological advancements. Only a few, fast-paced, forward thinking, geniuses are running the WORLD's technological advancements. And the difference between our geniuses today, and those of yesterday like Einstein, is that Einstein didn't have a direct link to the rest of the world (the internet) informing people instantly of all his current developments.

SO now, before we even know if our information is correct, we know about it. And they are telling us, "Keep up! KEEP UP!!" And, I'll be damned if I'm going to allow myself to accept that people are being called Attention Deficit, or Attention Deficit Hypertensive, when they aren't even being given the time themselves to decide whether the information they're getting is right or not, or even of real interest to them. There's only a few crazy ass, genius people running the information flow, setting trends of speed, information overload and nothing but analytics.

And I'll be damned if you think that drugs like Adderal are OK to help you reach these inhumane goals of total comprehension, of all work no sleep days, of information on top of information on top of information.

You're good enough to absorb and flow with the world the way you want to . You are good enough to take life at your own pace. You're good enough to live life the way you want to, without people telling you that you need drugs to keep up. PARENTS!!!! Get this message, because you're kids are in your hands. These drugs hurt your kids. We're talking long-term memory loss. We're talking heart murmurs. Not just irritability, and difficulty sleeping. We're talking having your child peaking 3 times a day like they just took a hit off a Meth-Pipe with some crack head genius in the back alley of the internet. No drugs to "keep up." NO DRUGS TO KEEP UP!!!!

Ok, so I'm really trying hard to be serious, and not fill this with mindful sentiments, because I'm no preacher. But, here's the intro of the George Lucas film, THX 1138. It's so strange, it’s so bizarre. I couldn't watch the movie in its entirety, and I only recommend it if you have the stomach for out of this world thinking that’s very, VERY far-fetched. It disturbed me, but is one of the greatest representations of the modern world's push to keep us "Keeping up."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6Z2ag8FMZw&feature=related

It's weird, right? And the movie goes on to show the lives of mindless clones working in this futuristic plantation who eat sedatives and mush for every meal, so they don't question the life they're sacrificing for whoever these invisible people are, running it. Sounds pretty friggin familiar to me.

What We Are Up Against

How High Are We Supposed to Jump Until We Hit Our Heads?

The Law of Accelerating Returns

by	Ray Kurzweil

An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense "intuitive linear" view. So we won't experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century -- it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today's rate). The "returns," such as chip speed and cost-effectiveness, also increase exponentially. There's even exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth. Within a few decades, machine intelligence will surpass human intelligence, leading to The Singularity -- technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history. The implications include the merger of biological and nonbiological intelligence, immortal software-based humans, and ultra-high levels of intelligence that expand outward in the universe at the speed of light.


How High Are We Supposed to Jump Until We Hit Our Heads?

*** Be inspired, not afraid

An Ode to my dear inspirer, my change agent, and an indirect best friend, Sir Ken Robinson , I write with the support of your determination.

As I began brainstorming this blog, there were turns, changes, and pitfalls in what I thought my exact positioned argument was going to be. There are a lot of things to discuss. My boyfriend, God bless him, plays devil's advocate to all my arguments, just to push me a little more. So, like all other things in my life, please bare with me as you try to follow my ADHD-like transformation of thoughts.

This blog is about ADHD, or as I like to call it, A Dumb Hypothesized Disorder. But my issue isn't with the disease itself, or with doctors or the FDA that aide in the diagnosis of children (who are the victims in this blog that I am trying to save). I do think there are overly hyper kids, that they disrupt the classroom, that they cannot follow in the standard forms of education, and whose traits don't follow ideological norms. But, I don't believe, under any circumstances, that a child's natural, habitual, in-bred peculiarity should ever be stigmatized in a way that in turn, could cripple them of their God given right to develop into the individual they were born to be.

I graduated in a class of 25 my senior year of high school. Basically all my friends were diagnosed with some kind of attention deficit disorder, and it was only until my school, The Marin School in Marin County, California, that these kids felt any hope at all. From boarding schools, to home schooling, to mood-altering drugs, my friends, my best friends, had been told from early on that they were not good enough to function in a standardized system. I write in the name of my friends.

PARENTS!! This blog is for you too. I am here to tell you to not be scared. To not be afraid that your child's hyperactivity is a clear reflection of how you did as parents, nor too scary to accept. Do not be afraid of what your children represent according to other people. Do not listen to doctors, to teachers, to the principals at their schools. Your child has a purpose, so do not be fooled into thinking that Ritallin, Adderall, Focallin or Concerta, or any other of these drugs, are going to fix what other people say about your kids. That is NOT your concern.

I beg you, in this overstimulated society, do not give up your duty of nurturing and acceptance and replace it with classification, emotional distance and the acceptance that a drug will be good for your child who is "diagnosed" with A Dumb Hypothesized Disorder.

During the course of this blog, I will evaluate, and re-evaluate my issues with ADHD within this over-diagnosed country.

Meanwhile, meet Sir Ken Robinson, an inspirer, an innovator, a fearless Brit who "challenges the way we're educating our children." He is my change agent, and says "Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. 'We are educating people out of their creativity,' Robinson says." -Ted.com

Please watch this video in its entirety. You will be inspired as we begin this journey together.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Much Love,

Rain