I know – you all think you read that wrong – how could distraction actually be a gift. Well, let me tell you that it is and that many famous people have had the gift of distraction, including Thomas Alva Edison. According to Thom Hartmann, in his book, Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception, Thomas Edison was well known as being easily distracted. He was known to have about 40 inventions going all at once. He would work on one until he got distracted and then move on to another one as he thought of new ideas.
Distractibility means that ones attention is always shifting to other areas. Instead of just sitting and doing what they are told to do the ADHD child will be paying attention to thoughts or events that seem to call out to them from the environment that they are in. It is hard for them to focus because everything around them excites and interests them. This distractibility is the essence of creativity – the ability to look at ideas from all different places and be able to put them together to create something new.
If your child is struggling in school and the teacher is telling you that he/she seems to be distracted much of the time have a talk with the teacher. Help him/her to see the strengths of your child and see if you can come up with a plan that will work for both your child and the teacher.
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