New Study Shows ADHD Useful

The main gene that influences Attention Deficit Disorder is a relatively recent evolutionary leap that happened during known human hunter/gatherer times, according to internationally known ADHD author and psychotherapist Thom Hartmann. The latest study, just published in the January 8, 2002 edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, found that while most of the gene that encodes for novelty seeking and other behaviors is about 300,000 years old, the variation of it that is carried by most people with ADHD is only 30,000 to 50,000 years old. And they found that it was a positive adaptation, meaning it was useful in the history of humans.

The main gene that influences Attention Deficit Disorder is a relatively recent evolutionary leap that happened during known human hunter/gatherer times, according to internationally known ADHD author and psychotherapist Thom Hartmann.
   The latest study, just published in the January 8, 2002 edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, found that while most of the gene that encodes for novelty seeking and other behaviors is about 300,000 years old, the variation of it that is carried by most people with ADHD is only 30,000 to 50,000 years old. And they found that it was a positive adaptation, meaning it was useful in the history of humans.
   The study represents a significant vindication for Hartmann, who over a decade ago had proposed his Hunter in a Farmers world" theory that the genetics of ADHD would one day prove the condition to have positive aspects. His first book on the topic, Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception," is a classic in the field and was written up in TIME magazine and other media.
   ADHD behaviors like distractibility, impulsivity, and a need for high levels of stimulation are actually skill sets, according to Hartmann. Those are the things that would make a good hunter/gatherer -- scanning their environment, which we call distractibility; making quick decisions when on the hunt, which we call impulsivity; and an insatiable curiosity and need for new experiences." These traits can be assets to someone who is an entrepreneur, pilot, EMT, inventor or even President.
   As the NIMH-funded study points out, however, those very same behaviors that insured the survival of early humans are [now] deemed inappropriate in the typical classroom setting and hence diagnosed as ADHD."
   Should we be medicating our children or changing our schools?
   The entire study is online at: http://www.today.uci.edu/releases/004ap02.html

Thom Hartmann is an award-winning best-selling author, international lecturer, teacher, and psychotherapist. His books have been written about in Time magazine, and he has appeared on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, and on numerous radio and TV shows including NPR, CNN, and BBC. A former journalist, international relief worker, and the executive director of a residential treatment facility for abused children, he now lives in Vermont where he is a guest faculty member at Goddard College and fulltime writer.