That is a very good example(the quote)that brings to mind, a post I read. One of things said by the author of the post, was his being accepted into college at the age of 16. It hit me right away, that the author was suggesting he had an above average I.Q.(or a certain gene that enabled him)…. But maybe I can’t understand his point.

I can remember very well, average students, myself included, at that age. We(I believe)had the abbilty to do the same, if we wanted it bad enough to do it(the persiration part).

Mr.Edison was, and still is, an inspiration to all that will use it. That’s easy for me to say….but the persiration does drip on the slippery floor of my mind.

A.D.D. is easier to type,and less stress on my keyboard(chuckle).So I’ll stick with that(if I can remember).

Scott.

Let’s assume for the moment that if you have A.D.D.; A.D.H.D.; A.D./H.D.; A.D.-H.D. (I think I covered all bases here), that you are, in fact, a genius. But as is often quoted from Edison, “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration” and it’s the 99% part that trips up almost every single A.D.D.er.

In the 3rd grade, on my class visit to the library, I borrowed “The Biography Of Thomas Alva Edison”. I read it,and remembered most of the little details about his life, and the way he thought about things,from the authors point of view.So, from then on, every year when time came for written/oral compositions, I would get A’s,and raised eyebrows from teachers.

Also, my grandmother had been a school teacher,and she would get my older brother(4 yrs older)and me together,and have fun games of competition,with quizes about state capitols,who could write the multiplcation tables the fastest,etc…Which resulted in me being ahead of other students in school.(I was the winner,most of the time,in the games with my brother,eventualy).

No genius here,just practice, made fun via grandmother,and a visit to the library,at a young age.So, reality just checked in, and deflated my genius bubble.

Scott.

I agree that character develops over our life times but I am very much in the nature dominates-hugely-over nuture view of character. I think Steven Pinker, in The Blank Slate, put the most reasoned and scientifically backed case for this, when he states that 50%-70% of the variation between people (in intelligence, personality, tastes, political views or any other characteristic you can think of) comes from genes, 0%-10% comes from childhood/home environment and the remainder is from chance or non-parental environment. So I see genetics (and hence I guess neurology) as being the greatest determinant of character. There are plenty of separated twin studies that show that people are indeed born not just tall or short but happy or sad, serious or funny, environment has a minor effect only.

The brain in the foetus is already set to have particular abilities and unfortunately weaknesses. Its genes will have a profound effect as to whether it will grow up confident, or happy or anxious, or even ADD. The genetic blueprint shapes the neuronal connections that hold “character” in the brain. Life events do effect character and might make a genetically determined happy disposition into a slightly sadder one or a low self-esteem child into a little more confident one. Knowledge and memories of course shape our views too, but I think (sadly because it makes change harder) that genes/neurology are the dominant force of character in our lives.

Having had therapy over several years I believe psychotherapy to be far too focussed on how past events shape our emotions, when most often it is genes that caused the issues, perhaps with some nudges from life events. This is particularly true when therapists try to help someone with ADD without realising they have ADD. No matter how much of their past and childhood history that they explore, there is ultimately no historical explanation for their self-esteem issues, depression or anxiety, the “blame” lies with their genetically-determined neuro-chemicals.

So I do very much like your “neurology precedes psychology” phrase.

Character, on the other hand, is a thing that develops in a person from infancy on. This information can go a long way toward relieving some of the pain experienced by those among us who were mistreated when behavior was seen as evidence of bad character.

My mantra to people who castigate themselves for their ADDesque foibles is this: “Neurology precedes psychology.”

Anyone who has seen an ultrasound of a three month old fetus has seen its brain. At that age it has no psychological development, no personality, and no character. And no mistakes.

Important to know: the food pyramid was created by, guess who, the Dept. of Agriculture, the same folks who think corn syrup is a good thing to add to every food they can get their sweaty mitts on.

You wrote “there are only three [food] categories in the world, Animal, Mineral, or Vegetable. Therefore Twinkies are clearly Vegetables. Potato Chips are vegetables fried in vegetable oil, a double dose of vegetables.”

I think I now know why the F.D.A. does not allow A.D.D.ers to create the food pyramid.

Since I unhappily had to stop taking ADD medications because of heart problems, I had a lot of tests done to see what supplements might help and what allergies I might have. It turned out I had several allergies that I was not aware of, one of the strongest reactions was to wheat. I previously had heard that around 57% of people with depression have a wheat allergy and I have generally had a low mood. I love bread and apparently this can be a sign that you have an allergy, when you really like a food! The allergy response produces endomorphines and you become “addicted” to the body’s response to the allergen. Interestingly Histamine, the allergy hormone that is produced when you have an allergy, also regulates the neuro-chemicals, dopamine and nor-ephedrine. Several pharmaceutical companies are researching how histamine-based medications could be used for ADD. I certainly know that anti-histamines knock me out and make me depressed.

Anyway, I have been off wheat for about four months and my mood is definitely brighter. Incidentally on some earlier tests I was found to be extremely low on magnesium, zinc and folic acid (despite a very healthy diet with plentiful organic vegetables etc). Several studies have shown these to be common deficiencies in people with ADD. I have since been taking quite high supplements of all of these and they have made a lot of difference, my mood is better than ever before, as good as when I was taking Ritalin or Adderall.

Hopefully a lot more research will be done on diet and supplements as I am convinced they can play a serious part in managing our ADD alongside or instead of medications.