Your Attention, Please . . .

Last week, it seems like it took me forever to read a New York Times article about whether I might have adult ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).  I had trouble focusing.

My spouse, with whom I associate ADD, would interrupt my reading to point out a pretty bird in the yard.  After admiring it for a bit, she forgot what she came to tell me. Oh, that’s okay, I had to find something on my disorganized desk, or check the mail, or get something to eat.

Perhaps I should not have read the article.  I have a To-Do list that is seven pages long.  I should be rearranging priorities on the list rather than reading something that has nothing to do with me.

The article did reveal something that I believe explained why my Iowa Test of Basic Skills tests had a huge slump on the graph when it came to reading comprehension.  My geography, math, English grammar, and other ratings were always 90 to 99.  However, reading comprehension caused a dip in my overall score.  Then I read last week “that adults who are diagnosed with A.D.H.D. must have also experienced significant symptoms of the disorder before the age of 12, even if they were not formally diagnosed during childhood, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M.”

I remember scoring in the 30s on the ITBS Reading Comprehension section.  Every time the results would come back, I wanted to argue.  I should have scored perfectly in those sections.  How else can you explain that I did well in the math sections when the questions went something like: “A train leaves Philadelphia at 6:00 am traveling west at 50 mph; another train leaves St. Louis at 7:00 am traveling east at 45 mph.  At what time and place will they meet?”  I could get the answers to the questions easily.  However, I did wonder who put those questions together because there wasn’t enough information.  Were they passenger trains or freight trains?  Did they have to pick up or let off passengers?  Were there stops to exchange boxcars along sidings, or pick some up, along the way?  There is also the problem of the United Transportation Union requiring breaks and shift changes for engineers and other personnel.

But I played their silly game as if the trains were remotely controlled and had no scheduled stops.  Not to mention the inability of having to maintain that speed going up and through mountains . . .

Now, where was I?  Oh, yeah.  Stephanie remembered what she came to talk about.  I’m sure it was important.

I am not going to waste my time reading about this condition again.  There is even a treatment plan for it.  If I had it, why would I want to change?  I sort of like myself.

It’s a good thing I am not afflicted with ADHD.  I wouldn’t want to live that way.