As adults with ADD ADHD the contradiction is extremely complicated. In today’s world, getting a job in a specific field of interest isn’t always easy. Many people are working in jobs that they do not enjoy and have no real interest. For people without ADD ADHD working in jobs of no joy and no interest is probably upsetting to them, but they can still work to their potential and do well; however, for Adders, this is not always the case. Adders in jobs of no interest and no joy are often just barely trying to get by. If an Adder cannot work in a job of his or her talent, interest or joy, they usually can be found in jobs of little or no meaning which require very little mental effort—this is presumed to be laziness and is upsetting to spouses and parents who may pressure the Adder to do better and perhaps even ridicule the Adder for not using his or her capabilities, because the Adder has probably shown, at some point, extreme abilities to do amazing things. One of the biggest problems for Adders is
that our talents and interests are not automatically transferable.For both adult and child Adders, a serious contradiction is their intellect and capabilities. Adders show sparks of genius and when interested can literally surpass and change the way things are known to be done in whatever field of interest. Many Adders have above average IQ’s and sometimes astronomical IQ’s, but this doesn’t matter if the Adder is not stimulated by interest. In such cases he or she has a very difficult time tapping into their own intelligence and talents. Outsiders observing the Adder tend to think the Adder is doing, or not doing, certain things on purpose. That is the contradiction most of us must deal with. “I know you can do it because I seen you do this or that!”
Employment for Adders can become complicated when an employer automatically assumes that talents and traits are transferable. It is necessary in today’s work force for most people to become “jacks of all trades” because many businesses have several different categories. In such employment when an Adder does exceptional in an area, an employer might think that this exceptional output can be used in an area which doesn’t have such a high performer and then it suddenly seems as though the employee who was exceptional has “lost it” or worse, he or she is under performing on purpose. The Adder employee has not “lost it” and is not under performing on purpose, he or she has simply been taken away from their talent or interest. This also happens to non-Adders, but is usually less dramatic in notice. However, on the flip side, some employers realize what they have in a certain area and decide to promote within certain categories to best take advantage of an Adder’s interest and talent. Take for example Steve Jobs; some have reported that he is an Adder. I don’t know if Steve Jobs is an Adder or not, but his genius was underestimated and he was brought back because of what he had to offer from his interest and talents. When an employer has an Adder on staff working in his or her interest or talent, it can be a major loss for the employer to remove the Adder—nobody can mimic an Adder or replace an Adder’s ideas and creations, it’s impossible!
Who can replace someone like Steve Jobs? Or, how about Einstein—has anyone filled that position yet?
~Bryan
