Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception

by Thom Hartmann, Edward M. Hallowell (Introduction), Michael Popkin (Foreword)

A new edition of an influential study of Attention Disorder, which argues that the condition is rooted in human evolution, includes new supporting evidence and reflects new advances in non-drug treatments.

Genres: Adhd, Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Science, Health, Mental Health

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Thomas Carl Hartmann is an American radio personality, author, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, The Thom Hartmann Program, since 2003 and hosted a nightly television show, The Big Picture, between 2010 and 2017.

Reviews

[Nathan Wilder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite funny (for me) because my biological father was a world-class hunter and winner of many hunting trophies for pheasants, raccoons and deer and the person who more or less adopted me as his son after the death of my biological father was a farmer and later on a factory manager. It managed to "hit home" on many different areas and I think the book has a very valid theory about positive selection of ADHD and it's use in a natural world without the conveniences or obligations of modern society.

It was selected because I've been trying to utilize "positive psychology" about my condition and look on the bright side of it (being recently blackpilled about my place in society from the other few books) and maybe find useful career choices to pivot to that would feel more "natural."

The reason I'm rating so lowly is because I don't find "just go off your meds bro" to be useful or helpful advice. Career choices as "an entrepreneur," "an entertainer" or "a soldier" are also kind of hand-wavey and dismissive so the book isn't too useful when it comes to MANAGING your ADHD. It does put it in a better light and make idealizing about the collapse of civilization a bit more entertaining lol.

[James Andersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always refreshing to read a book that talks about the "good" of a person said to have ADHD, as opposed to yet another book that criticizes the child and says his brain is defective. "Phooey!," I say, to that defect argument.

Seriously, with as little as we really do know about the brain, how could anyone ever say we "know" there is a defect with that child's brain, and then just drug the kid to death. Grr!

This book, anyway, speaks to the virtues of a child said to have ADHD-type behaviors, and explains why they are just that: Virtuous. From there, it is simply up to us; those who claim normality in the brain department, to adjust to the true intelligence of the ADHD-type.

[Thom]

I like Hartman's perspective of moving ADD & ADHD from "disorder" or "deficit" into "normal human expression."

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom (a teacher for over 20 years) has always told me to be careful with labeling people. This book gives insight into the dangers of labels, such as labeling someone as having ADD- Attention Deficit Disorder. In this book, Thom Hartmann suggests that having a short attention span is NOT a disorder, it's just another way of being and living. Great insights here to understand human behavior, and how to be the best person you can be with the mind you have been given.


Favorite quotes/insights:
- "Every noble work is at first impossible." - Thomas Carlyle

- Hunters and Farmers: As the human race moved from its earliest ancestors, two basic types of cultures evolved. In the areas which were lush with plant and animal life and had a low human population density, hunters and gatherers predominated. In other parts of the world, farming or agricultural societies evolved.

Skills of Hunters (People labeled as having ADD):
- they constantly monitor their environment
- they can totally throw themselves into the hunt; time is elastic
- they're flexible, capable of changing strategy on a moment's notice
- they can throw an incredible burst of energy into the hunt
- They think visually
- they love the hunt, but are easily bored by mundane tasks
- they will face danger that other individuals would avoid
- they're hard on themselves and those around them (to protect, because life depends on split-second decisions)

Things to consider:
- ADD is not a disability, but a personality and can be an advantage! Semantics and labels have had a powerful effect on how we view, define, and treat ourselves and others.
- There is a link between ADD and cravings (sensitive to high and low levels of sugar, alcohol, caffeine and drugs)
- ADD is a spectrum, we all experience it on some levels

- "A Hunter/someone with ADD may work on a project than make a snap decision to switch projects, leaving behind the debris from the previous project." pg.3

"The great thing about being disorganized is that I'm constantly making exciting discoveries. Sometimes I'll find things I didn't even know I'd lost."

Hunters/People with ADD:
- have distortions of time sense and difficulty following directions
BUT visualizing the directions may help
- they may have occasional symptoms of depression (due to lack of challenges and boredom)
- take risks
- are easily frustrated and impatient

"God is in the details." -Einstein

"Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That's not the place to become discouraged." - Thomas Edison, pg. 25

p.30 Increase success as a Hunter/person with ADD by:
- Organize time around tasks
- train attention span (meditation, you can start to notice and control your wandering attention, create visual pictures while having conversations)
- Break responsibilities into specific goals, short term projects and knock them out one by one
(By end of year you will realize you reached your yearly goals)
- Create distraction-free zones (keep work area/desk clean)
- Exercise daily!
- Know what you do well and stick to it
- Hire Farmers as your assistants
- Challenges: impulsivity and cravings
- postpone every decision by one day
- if you're a writer, set a goal like "write 5 pages a day" (p. 41)

To help with cravings:
- wait for it to pass (few hours)
- redirect the craving (say yes to something else)
- medicate as needed (Ritalin)

"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance." -Samuel Johnson, pg. 45

- Hunters are creative geniuses
"That which is creative must create itself" -John Keats, pg. 55

"It's a risk to be original, to try something new. Yet risk taking is essential to the creative process." - pg. 56

Hunters are intrinsically motivated
"Creative people let their minds wander among seemingly ambiguous paths. With out this playing with fantasy, no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable." -Carl Jung

Hunters have a willingness to overcome obstacles, have unique insight skills, and the ability to redefine a problem

Many Hunters self medicate with alcohol or caffeine. Some adults choose to take Ritalin occasionally, to get through certain tasks or situations - pg. 79

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." -W.B. Yeats, p.95

The interrupter:
All my life, I was accused of interrupting others. What she (my wife) didn't realize was that I had to interrupt. If I didn't, by the time they were done with their sentence I would have forgotten what I was going to say. I would have been distracted by something else they were saying, and my mind would have gone onto something else, and I never would have made my point." (taking notes helps!) -p.99

"Hunters with above-average or genius intelligence often have resumes which are startling in their diversity and accomplishment, even though they may have struggled to finish high school." -p.109

"When Hunters fail in life it is often because their self-image was distorted at an early age when they were labeled as a "problem". -p. 110

p.124- TSDD (Task Switching Deficit Disorder), the opposite of ADD. Someone who stays focused on one thing for extreme amounts of time and has difficulty stopping the task to attend something or someone else.

p. 130 There is a difference between Hunters and Farmers baseline state of consciousness:
Farmers naturally relax to a focused state and Hunters naturally relax to an open state of consciousness. Focused consciousness- a person is totally focused on a task/object/person, absolutely absorbed in it. Open consciousness-the mind wanders from thing to thing, touching one after another lightly, keeping what's interesting, discarding the rest, then wandering to another input.

p. 131 Definition of Mindfulness- seeks to empty his or her mind, touching thoughts when they bubble up so that they'll be released and not become focus of attention. Used as a way of training a normal focused person to develop a highly fine-tuned, purely open state of consciousness.

Another form of meditation- bringing the mind to a single focus, training it to stay with one thought. i.e. repeating a Mantra over and over in your mind for hours, drawing the mind to a single point of focus.

p. 133 Theories about the rise of ADD:
- changes in our schools to increased class sizes
- technological changes in our society (many forms of media- TV/movies/video games rarely maintain an image or a concept for more than a few moments which may train a short attention span

"Some evidence that adult-onset diabetes is an inherited condition and (perhaps like the genetic predisposition for obesity) may play some part in surviving episodic famines." - p.134
*Haha! Loved this positive spin on obesity!

p. 139 Debate on medication:
"Had Edison, Franklin, Nostradamus, Handel, Dali, Ford, Mozart, Hemingway, or Van Gogh been medicated back to "normal", the world might well be a very different, and far less interesting place. On the other hand, had such normalizing medication been available during the childhood to the huge percentage of ADD adults in our prisons, much human suffering might have been eliminated, lives saved, and our society might well be a safer and more comfortable place to live."

p. 143 Solutions for Hunters/ADD:
- Reset the stage: it's not a disorder! It's a different personality type.
- Hunter children need Hunter classrooms: smaller class size, more experience-based learning, visual aids, and fewer distractions to nurture hidden talents and bring out their brilliance!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me forever to read this but it led to several significant insights including why youth librarians and our bosses often have a hard time getting along and why I like to read, not to mention why my husband and I have different ideas about listening to the radio.

[John Towery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helps me understand myself a whole lot better. Just wished I knew about it earlier in life than later.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the German translation of an American book. It felt like not much effort has been put into the translation and at times I almost put it down.

Having that said, the Hunter / Farmer analogy resonates with me. I like that ADD is not being described as a disorder but rather as a collection of traits, some of which just don't fit into modern society's expectations.

The book is quite old (first published 1993) and some parts are quite outdated.

I'd give it four stars if it wasn't such a bad translation.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the name of this book stop you from reading it. You don't have to have ADD, nor does your child, to get a lot out of this book. The author, Thom Hartmann, puts a fresh perspective on how to improve relationships through understanding each other's unique way of doing and seeing. It is invaluable to understanding your child's personality and your own. It is an easy read and a book you will refer back to over and over.

[Yolanda Solo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much better way to look at this issue than classifying it only as a disorder. Not being able to regurgitate information like robots or sit in place for hours at a time is only a recent problem.

The world needs both hunters and farmers and education methods should adapt to that reality.

[Hee-jung Cranford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book about ADD’s hunter instincts and traits. Learned a lot about what would be considered “abnormal” “quirky” tendencies that were quite normal and natural. Was sitting and nodding my head throughout the book.

[ThymeOperator · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best things I've ever read - so empowering and inspiring. ANYONE with ADD, or living with someone with ADD, NEEDS to read this book. We need more lit out there like this to change the world for the better.

[Javier Bustos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book, easy to read. I wanted to read it in 2-3 days but every time i've started reading i finished doing something else.

[Yoana Teixeira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. It opened my eyes.
And, I'm totally a Farmer!

[Bernadette López McCollom · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting perspective of Hunter vs Farmer. I would recommend this to all parents of kids with ADD/ADHD.

[Aneru Mutana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superlative perception view.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read if you don't know anything about ADD/ADHD. Really enjoyed the author's approach to treat these conditions in an alternate way and not as diseases.

[Asher J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up from a forgotten shelf at the office--a rather older edition than the one listed here, I suspect--and was pleasantly surprised. While the book had plainly been there awhile (DSM-III diagnostic criteria and all), it was very readable, didn't come across as dated--rare, in the vintage self-help world--and, best of all, didn't totally undermine its non-pathologizing perspective by being blithely sexist or racist or classist or ableist all over the place.

Which is distressingly common in both clinical and self-help texts.

While it's pretty lean on actual, logistical strategies, it does deliver on the promise of its title--this is a useful narrative for engaging ADHD from a strengths perspective, and it's offered in enough detail to be pretty helpful in making sense of how ADHD shows up in people's lives. It also strikes a pretty balanced tone on questions about medication vs. other interventions, and actually acknowledges gaps in the research (which, again, have likely been partially filled since).

If I can get my hands on a more current edition, this will probably be getting a leg-up to the client-accessible shelf. Recommended.

[Bette · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important contribution to the discussion about how to think about ADHD, and about the people who are diagnosed as having it. Research into ADHD has advanced since it was written -- the ADHD link with PTSD is among the most promising, imo -- but this goes a long way toward de-stigmatizing those who have the diagnosis. I also agree with the importance of regarding medication as a last resort rather than as a first-line approach, as many professionals want to do. Non-drug approaches not mentioned here, such as the EFT method, hold much promise.

[Benji Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to say that my hunter mentality made it too difficult to concentrate, but instead I channeled my hyper-focusing abilities. Great insight on another bull shit "disease". News flash, people are different and can't be made to be normal by drugs. We can, through self awareness, focus and discipline, hone our strengths and limit our weaknesses. Great work Thom

[Corgi Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

his book helped me to understand the differences in ADD and non-ADD people in how the ADD person functions and processes his/her world. The author talks about the "hunter" (ADD person) and the "farmer" (non-ADD person), their characteristics and how those characteristics form the way they approach life. An even better book on helping me understand one of my sons. Truly an eye-opener.

[Ted Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

You thought it was just a joke on my facebook status?!

[Janno · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is worth it even if only for the Hunters vs. Farmers chart which summarizes the differences between ADHD and Non-ADHD brain so well. It was a pleasure to read about the positives of ADHD!

[Cansu Satıloğlu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly amazing!

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reasonably Good. Much prefer Dreamers, Discoverers, and Dynamos by

[Luciana Mkimonos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abolutely PERFECT review of people with ADD... Magnificient!!!!