The latest message from Kristen as well as an earlier reference to ADD has
had me thinking here in the wee hours of insomnia. I realize that I was not
on the listserv when the original reference to ADD was made and therefore am
relying on hearsay, without knowing what Kristen had initially said about
it.
I feel compelled to respond at this point to make it clear ADD is no excuse
for stupidity. I know no one has made that connection in response to the
spam incident, but I imagine some are chalking this latest evidence of poor
judgement on that previous reference to the ADD. ADD has no correlation to
IQ. In fact, my counselor refers to ADD as less of an attention deficit as
a *motivational* deficit. Someone with ADD *can* attend to (focus on)
anything that truly interests (motivates) her.
I am by no means an academic expert on ADD, but I am an experiential expert
on it. I have ADD and learning disability(ies). Despite this, I have been
able to attain an advanced degree and a successful career as a university
instructor (following a dismal failure as a nurse-manager. Too little
structure for me & my ADD). I believe my learning challenges actually make
me a better educator.
My point in all this is: there are rules on this listserv. Everyone is
capable of minor, thoughtless violations of them from time to time. I'm not
sure the spam incident qualifies as a minor, isolated violation. And I
certainly do not think ADD is any excuse for it.
I apologize for anyone who has hurt feelings from what I have written, but I
feel strongly that I must clarify the nature of ADD in light of this latest
transgression of the listserv rules.
