ADHD? No Problem! - An Introduction

Lighting the Fire -

Lately I have been having problems with my Military chain of command. I am still overweight, under par in physical performance, and percievably lazy. It isn't true though. I am one of the most proactive people I know about. However, I do have a problem. I know what it is. I have had this problem since I was a little boy.

I am suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivy Disorder.

When I was young, they called it ADD, or Attention Deficit Disorder. I have it. My two brothers have it. My dad has it, my grandfather had it. My son was recently diagnosed with ADHD (Complex II) . My wife has never seen this before and has been going out of her mind with trying to figure out how to control him. My dad had a simple answer for this, beat the living daylights out of my two brothers and I when we messed up. I don't feel this is the best way of doing business.

When I was younger, about the age of eight, I was put on Ritalin. At first it was a low dosage, but the dosage amounts quickly rose and I had to start taking three times a day. By the time I was twelve, I made it a choice to stop taking Ritalin. I struggled through high school (with a low B- average) although I was one of the brightest in the class. When I was 13, one of my family members remarked, "There goes 13, going on 32." Now I am 30, and I am finding myself back at the drawing board. I am now taking Adderoll and only have to take it once a day. My son takes Concerta once a day and we both have improved significantly in our symptoms.

Twelve months ago, when my son was diagnosed with ADHD, I noticed in him a lot of the symptoms I was having. Since joining the US Navy, I have been slowly going downhill with my coping of the symptoms of ADHD. I started to lose/misplace things, my weight crept up on me, I couldn't build the kind of trust that other people could. I couldn't stop the yo-yo game of losing weight for the weigh-in and then gaining it back in spades immediately thereafter. And all this did was make other people see me in a light that said "this man doesn't care for himself, how can he possibly care for my troops?"

Does that mean that I don't care about the troops? Most assuredly not! I care about my subordinates and their professional development just as much as they do, if not even more. My job is to train and develop the next deckplate leaders of the US Navy. Even more so, my job is also to teach the chain of command how to deal with a person who has the condition I do. How do you do that, when all they see is a lazy, unmotivated sailor?

This blog is going to be a running commentary on how I am doing with coping with my "problem." I am going to comment on which skills work for me, and which one's don't, and why. ADHD is not one of those "one size fits all" disorders. Each instance of it is unique and the worst part is that we are people who are confused and frustrated at why we aren't like everyone else. Why can't we be the popular one? Why can't we be the rich one? Why NOT me? I happen to think that we can.

The last six months have been interesting for me. In and out of the Counselor's office. Practicing what I have been learning. Mastering the art of project/life planning. Learning to execute the plan. Basically learning to become the best personal manager I can be.

What you can expect from me:

- Information on:
- What is ADHD?
- Are ADHD'ers actually sufferers?
- What methods can be used to mitigate ADHD?
- Can someone with ADHD be a leader?
- What can a leader/supervisor/manager do to help a person with ADHD?
- What does a person with ADHD need to do to be successful in studies, life, work and play.

and as the topics come up, anything else that comes to mind. :)

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A little bit about me, and who made me who I am.

First, I am Rich Linsley. I live with my wife and three children. I am from Southern US, and my wife is from Vermont. My grandmother still can't get over the fact that a "southern gentleman could fall in love with a yankee belle." We were married in September of 2000, and were blessed with the birth of our son, Michael shortly thereafter. Jade and Michael were both born in Japan, where I was stationed. However, our third child, Christina, blessed our family after returning to the states. I am soon to PCS to another duty station, let the adventure begin!

My Dad - My dad is an interesting person. He ruled his home much like his father did. With an iron fist when it came to punishments. They were quick, sometimes severe and my siblings lived with an understanding that if we messed up, we would get the belt. Don't take this the wrong way, compared to his father he was a kitten! However, he didn't have the coping skills needed to become a fully compassionate father, and often has trouble completely expressing his love, admiration or other types of feelings. He and I share many traits together. We are both quick to make judgments or plans and then move to execute them. Sometimes with disasterous results, but we learn from those mistakes. (Can you really call them mistakes if you learn from them?) With age, he has mellowed out and now treats his sons as if they are his peers rather than people to be controlled. To me, this is awesome and I have enjoyed my adult relationship with him.

My Grandfather Wallace - There was a moment in my youthful history when everything went wrong. My mother and father were convicted of child abuse. My brothers and I were split from my family and then we were split apart. At first, I was placed in Banok Boys Shelter in Denver, Colorado. I had the astute priveledge of being one of the longest tenents in its history prior to placement in a state funded foster care home. Five months later, in December 1989, I was sent to Louisiana by airplane, and was picked up by a person I would later recall as being the most powerful person in the world - my grandfather.

This was the type of man, that when he would enter the room everyone would stand up and acknowledge him. He rarely raised his voice. He rarely had to punish his children or grandchildren. (Grandma took care of that for him :P ) But when he did raise his voice, everyone listened. When I was stationed in Japan, I recieved a phone call that shocked me to the core. My grandfather was involved in a traffic accident and was in Intensive Care. My brother also recieved the same call. All military members returned home within two days. My chain of command paid for my trip back stateside and allowed me 30 days leave. 45 days after the accident, he left this world. The chain of command again sent me home within 48 hours. I was fortunate enough to be able to render military honors for a man that served in World War II. I found out later after the autopsy, that my grandfather had a painful condition that had been hurting him physically for several years prior to his death. He worked physically the entire time and never let anyone know of his pain. Sometimes, I wonder if I could ever measure up to a man like this.

One of the things my grandfather said to me still haunts me to this day. He said, "Richie, don't ever let me catch you not finishing something you started." This was in response to my failure to attain to the rank of Eagle Scout. I had been able to make it to Life Scout, but if I had put my nose to the grinder just a little bit more, I would have been able to finish with flying colors. I was lazy, I had a girlfriend, it didn't mean that much to me. I was stupid. I will not forget that statement.

Robert M. Sanders - My Freshman Bandsmaster. An interesting guy. He was actually audacious enough to threaten to kick me out of band if I didn't get my act together. I was in 9th grade, and playing percussion at a level equivalent to an elementary school student. That being said, he kicked me in the butt a few times and made me study percussion rudiments. I moved from playing the Tympani, to the Bass Drum, to Auxillary Percussion to the Snare Drum. I also was the first percussionist to try out, be accepted and perform in Lousiana State-level Honor Band for two years of my four year high school career. Something that hadn't been done in a long while.

There are many more people that I need to introduce, but my mind has already switched tracks a lot and I am having trouble concentrating. Until next time, take care of yourselves!