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Top 10 Advantages of ADD in a High-Tech Career
Having ADD can be the competitive edge

	Pete Quily (addcoach)

I have Attention Deficit Disorder (which I find is more of a surplus of attention, really). I coach adults with ADD, have an ADD resource website with over 100 pages of information, an ADD blog, and lead the Vancouver Adult ADD support group. So, I'm fairly familiar with ADD. I've been using Mac computers for 20 years, sold them for seven, and have spent thousands of hours on the net. So, I'm fairly familiar with the high-tech world.

I've noticed many similarities between the two worlds.

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

Many only see the problems associated with ADD, and many, especially men, avoid getting a diagnosis. This avoidance is attributable to ADD's portrayal as an almost totally pathological condition, which causes it to be viewed as just a weakness.

To give some perspective and to help those in the industry recognize and develop their ADD-related strengths as well as manage their ADD challenges, I thought I'd list some advantages of having ADD in the wired world.

I also hope this might help those who may be afraid of getting diagnosed and treated (medication, coaching, therapy etc.) for ADD because of those who condemn ADD as a moral failure with claims like "there's no such thing as ADD, turn off the TV, stop eating sugar, beat your kid more often, and twirl around 3 times and tap your heels and it will go away." ADD is an inherited neurobiological condition. Every medical and psychological association has stated this. As more people see the advantages of having ADD, they will actually be more inclined to seek diagnosis and treatment. Some wrongly believe ADD is negatively related to IQ or that all ADD-ers are slow learners or below average IQ. I have it and made the dean's honors list, and many PhDs have it. MENSA has an ADD special interest group with more than 300 members. It comes down to a difference in brain wiring, and in some fields, such as high-tech, marketing, media and the arts, entrepreneurship, etc., the unique wiring of the ADD brain is a competitive advantage.

Top Ten ADD Advantages in a Hi-Tech Career

1. The Ability to Hyperfocus

This means hours of full engagement and concentration on 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 p.m. and around 4 a.m. decided it was time to go home.

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. The downside is if you're stuck with old hardware and not enough RAM you'll be frustrated because it can't keep up with the speed of your brain.

3. Multitasking at Will

You're able to run 14 applications at a time and effortlessly switch among them without breaking into a sweat and are 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, an ADD-er will be more into creative and entrepreneurial activities than clerical or repetitive ones. 14-hour days? No problem, adrenaline is my fuel source.

5. Highly Creative

You're able to think beyond the box. This comes naturally to ADD-ers, while others pay handsomely to learn this. Since you take in more information than the average person does, and you're easily distracted, you're more likely to view a problem from more angles than vanilla people (non ADD-ers) and therefore come up with more possible solutions to a problem. Need an idea generator? Find an ADD-er.

6. Quick Learner

ADD arises mainly out of boredom - you have no trouble paying attention to something if it's interesting. Most people find it difficult to do boring or repetitive things, but these can often totally shut an ADD-er down. Your rapid-fire brain + highly creative mind + the ability to hyperfocus equals fast absorption of new information. Dr. Ed Hallowell, who has ADD and has written several Delivered from Distraction : Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder, said he stopped teaching psychiatry at Harvard University because the non-ADD-er brains were just to slow. He got tired of being continually frustrated waiting for them to catch up to the ADD students.

7. Stimulus-Seeking Brain

A perfect match for the wired world: an under-stimulated brain and an over-stimulated virtual environment. Being an info junkie can be a good thing. Well, not always.

8. Constantly Scanning your Environment

This allows you to notice more and find information and resources that others miss, to see possible problems before they arise, and discern opportunities that others may not see because they have tunnel vision vs. multiplex vision. An ADD-er invented the electronic ticket.

9. Great in a Crisis

In a high-energy, intense situation, with lots of chaos and change? Sign me up - I thrive on stimulation, change, and chaos. We can create order from chaos effortlessly. We can also create such an environment as well, if needed.

10. Risk Taker

Impulsivity means you're more willing to take risks and have a bias for action, acting now while the opportunity is hot instead of getting into analysis paralysis. Many entrepreneurs have ADD, e.g., Paul Orfalea, who founded Kinko's, JetBlue Founder and CEO David Neeleman, who attributes his creativity to ADD. Both are billionaires. Imagine how successful a high-tech CEO would be if they didn't take many risks.

These are just a start of the advantages of ADD - for more go to the list of 151 positive characteristics of people with ADD at my ADD Resource website.

This is not to say there are no disadvantages or real problems associated with ADD in a high-tech career. There most certainly are, and if you don't learn to manage them they can cause a great deal of trouble and grief to you and those around you, but that's another article.

This has appeared on my ADD website http://www.addcoach4u.com and my ADD Blog http://www.adultaddstrengths.com.

2006-02-18 18:29

�2006 OhmyNews

you've forgotten your own words! Your post above is 100% different "flavor" to it, now all positive and cheery! Your first post was 100% doom and gloom every which way, including "raining on your parade", and "if you want to go forward"...God, sounds like she's talking about jumping into oncoming traffic! Here is your quote:

My first boss (the one who hired me as a new grad) gave me some words of wisdom that I haven't forgotten. She said that transcribing at home with small children NEVER works under any circumstance. Either the work will suffer or the parenting will suffer.

How can the word "NEVER" in caps be interpreted in any positive way? You took about 8 paragraphs to cover every aspect and completely dash this poor woman's dream. I'm not blind, I'm not talking about day care at all, I'm talking about the total negativity of your original post! You know exactly what I'm talking about, cause you added some sugar to your second version! And that's much nicer than the first!

She fell directly on to/onto her buttocks and since that time has been experiencing lower back pain.

I think you can make more money on clinic notes as they are easier...even though you usually get less per line, you can usually pump out the lines quicker. There was a recent discussion on the hosp/clinic board about this. Here is the addy, but I'll add the link below too.

It was from Jan. 3rd. It read:

It is so easy to convince yourself you cannot make as much money at a different company or on a different account, or never find anything better, so you stay where you are, taking all the abuse in the world. In management, this is called the Golden Handcuff, and they rely on it to keep the same employees, never give a raise, never give respect, and just continue to walk all over you.

In this profession you are very mobile if you can transcribe at all. It may take a month to get used to a new system, a new account, or whatever, but your self respect is worth it in the end. There are a lot of companies out there that actually do appreciate employees, and it certainly does not seem to be any of the companies who are mentioned frequently on these boards.

I changed jobs about a month ago, thought I would never learn, but in a week I was making far more with a small MTSO than I ever did with a large company. Treat yourself to a new beginning and a new year.

Hope this helps.

I am saying that this horrible thing could have been prevented. My sister woke up in the morning to her partially eaten chickens (whch are actually her pets) because the coyotes got to them. She called feed stores and even the county to find a way to solve the problem. Somewhere along the way someone gave her the following idea. Her husband and some friends dug down a couple feet into the ground and put plywood straight down into the ground around the chicken coop. This has worked 100%.

I am saying that if this was the first time her dogs had gotten out, there would've been no fault to her. But, since this wasn't the first time she could have fixed the problem. Worst case scenerio she could have a pen for the dogs to keep them in.

I hesitated in even responding because I knew I would get the reaction you gave, but if this could prevent her other dog from being a victim it is worth it (or any other dog for that matter).

2. When putting in the expansion, hit CTRL+K, you will see a screen that says "the next key you type, etc. for Bolding, check the CTRL box, the hit the B key. It is appears as {@keyCTRL+B} and the entry will be bolded. Do the same thing at the end, and it will turn off the bolding.

Highlight whatever you want sub-typed, go up and click on Format and then Font. Under Effects, checkmark the box by "subscript." Click OK.

Get a copy of the Schedule C and see what they allow for deductions. But Turbo Tax or get a good tax book for self employed, small businesses. Spend $125 and go and talk to an accountant. I admire that you are starting early and need to know what to do but it is best when first starting out to talk with an expert in the area or buy a book. But basic deductions are anything that relates to your business, phone, internet, supplies, mileage to go and do pick-up/deliveries, banking. You can do a home office, part of your house depreciation/mortgage. But again to get all the ins/outs and up todate facts I would talk with an accountant for the first year.