"WHAT'S ADD, YOU SAY?"
                                       by
                                  Matthew Kutz
        
             ADD is me.  The child of today, a child of triumph and a
        child of sorrow, a child of curiosity and knowledge.  ADD is me! 
        And I am ADD!  
             Being in regular schools was an experience I will never
        forget.  Most teachers when referring to ADD had no idea what
        they were talking about, they got everything wrong.  They think
        you'll see and hear better if they sit you up front or sit you
        away in a corner.  I am not blind, deaf, dumb, stupid nor a
        behavior problem.  I am however attention deficit; my attention
        span doesn't last on any one subject very long unless I get
        totally consumed by a particular subject.  
        
             My special education teacher in fourth grade got angry
        because I corrected him about fruits and vegetables.  He was
        explaining to the class that a tomato was a vegetable like a
        potato; but it is not, it is a fruit.  
        
             Being ADD is like being in a box and unable to get out.
        Punching your way out, the walls only turn to stone and the space
        gets smaller.  My world begins to shrink. 
        
             Being ADD means you see things other people miss.  When you
        see a peach you see a piece of fruit.  I see the color, the
        texture, and the feel where it grew.
        
             Being ADD I'm not qualified to say how the brain functions
        but I am qualified to say how much it hurts when other people
        make fun of you.  Sometimes it doesn't seem fair when they tease
        you and you want to bust their jaw but you walk away to keep from
        lowering yourself to their standards.  
        
             Being ADD is like being a hunter of today looking for new
        ways and new challenges to broaden my way.  Being ADD doesn't
        mean life is over; it means it's just beginning.  Being ADD means
        some things are more difficult for me to understand as my mind
        wants to investigate beyond what seems obvious to you.
        
             Being ADD, when I read a book about marine life my mind
        allows me to travel with the fish and imagine life beneath the
        sea.  Or I can read a book about astronomy and dance among the
        stars.  I can do more than one thing at a time and do both well
        yet I can be stumped by some simple things.  I may not
        immediately comprehend that 3+4=7, but I may fully realize that
        n+26=51 and that the missing number is 25.  So when you meet me
        try to understand that what you are trying to teach me is totally
        boring if I've already learned it, or completely mystifies me if
        I haven't and have not caught on in a reasonable length
        of time.  Be kind, patient and understanding; I will eventually
        learn it then I am promptly through with it and ready for a new
        challenge or my exploring mind will continue to hunt for a
        subject more absorbing than something I've already learned...
        I cannot begin to tell you in a few short paragraphs what ADD is
        or isn't.  I can only say it isn't hopelessness, despair, or
        regret.  It is just a different way of being and it's just being
        me!" 
        
        Matthew Kutz is a fourteen-year-old ADD student living in
        California.