HELPING THE ADD PERSON EXCEL 
                                       by 
                                  Ann Harding 
        
             Excerpted from "The Terrible Quandary of Attention
        Deficit Disorder"
        
             How can you help a person with ADD excel?  Here is a list
        that might help.
        
        1.  Listen.  As with any person, knowing they are being
        heard will help ease doubts and fears.  Often, a person with
        ADD will take responsibility for any misunderstandings. 
        Help in sorting out the problem will lend perspective and
        aid in resolution.
        
        2.  Paraphrase.  A person with ADD will tend to talk in
        circles and repeat themselves.  By paraphrasing, you not
        only force them to slow down, you remind them of what
        they've already said.
        
        3.  Believe them.  ADD is an "invisible" disability and
        aside from the fact that they're fidgety, the only way
        you're certain to know they have ADD is if they tell you. 
        If you doubt their word, you build a wall of mistrust
        between yourself and the other.  It's hard to do your best
        work when it feels like your judge is against you from the
        start.
        
        4.  Ask about how a task is progressing.  As has been
        stated, procrastination is a part of life for an "ADDer",
        they really don't realize that time is running out.  Say
        "show me what you've done so far," it will help keep your
        student accountable, and will give you the chance to offer
        ways of clarifying and organization along the way.
        
        Please don't
        
        1.  Tell your ADD student or employee to "just pay
        attention."  Because filtering out unimportant noises comes
        naturally to most adults, it could be easy to assume that
        everyone  has the same abilities for discernment.  Such is
        not the case for someone with ADD.  In a classroom
        situation, a late arriver can really distract the ADD
        student.  Even if the culprit is quick and quiet, there will
        be gaps in the ADD students notes.  Be willing to fill in
        those gaps after class is over.  
        
        2.  Don't give too long lists of verbal instruction.  An ADD
        person simply cannot remember more than two items in
        succession.  Write it down, or have them write while you
        speak.
        
        3.  Don't yell.  ADD keeps the person from understanding,
        not hearing.  If you feel yourself becoming angry or
        frustrated, ask the person what part they need repeated.
        
        4.  Don't begrudge the ADD person, he/she will bring alot of
        life and joy to you and others.  ADD people wear their
        feelings on their skin and are easily hurt.  We're not
        babies, we're just sensitive.
        
        5.  Don't try to hurry an ADD person!  Offer them more time
        to finish.  Let the ADD person experiment with ways to make
        sense of something.  If it's abstract in design, it won't
        make sense and will be harder to grasp.  Sequential,
        mathematical, and logical order are the methods that
        communicate best to person with ADD.
        
        Just a few more needs:
        
        As much as is possible, let the ADD person move around.  
        Try to give them some freedom to be creative in their
        approach to tasks and be able to develop their own path and
        timetable.  Ask "How can this work for you?" and then help
        them stick to their plan.
        
        Let them do tasks in short segments of 15 minutes or so. 
        It's easier to stay interested and on target.
        
        Now to my favorite part of this paper;  no, not because it's
        the end, but because I get to tell you the cool things about
        a person with ADD.
        
        ** We are right up front, honest and unpretentious.
        
        ** We're difficult to fool, very down to earth.
        
        ** We can put projects together readily because we're not
        "boundary isolated."
        
        ** We see things others don't see and are marvelous
        observers.
        
        ** If you've lost something, call your nearest ADD friend. 
        We can find anything, even over the phone!