by Dr. Lara Honos-Webb

While businesses invest in bringing in speakers and trainings to encourage creative thinking in the workplace, more  schools narrowly focus on teaching to the test than ever before. Creativity is one of the gifts of ADHD  and a child can go through their entire education without having their capacity for innovation, breakthrough ideas or specific artistic skill recognized.  Many of the very behaviors that get ADHD kids in trouble – self-direction, wanting to explore rather than memorize, and “defiance” will be highly valued in business settings 

Unrelenting Curiosity

An individual who succeeds in today’s economy will have a greater chance of success if she is intensely curious. The ability to synthesize information is becoming increasingly important at many different job levels. The greater your capacity for exploring different domains and broaching arenas of knowledge outside of your specialization, the greater your chances of success. Many businesses and corporations now require employees to interact with cultures all over the world. The more interested you are in learning about the cultures you interact with, the greater your chances of success.

As a child, this very same curiosity may have gotten you into trouble. Teachers may have viewed your questions as “defiant,” or blamed you for derailing the class in your pursuit of the unknown. Thankfully, not all teachers are this way.  The ability to consider questions that we don’t have answers to is a true gift, and it can lead to amazing unexpected discoveries.

Who Says?

ADD students often get into trouble for taking the stance, “Who says?”  And yet, this ability will be increasingly important in the information age. On the one hand, there is a tremendous amount of good information easily accessible on the Internet. (A huge boon to people who have difficulty memorizing information or holding onto minute details!) On the other hand, there is a lot of bad information on the Internet. As we come to rely more and more on the Internet, it’s going to become exceptionally important to question the sources of online information.In this digital information era, it’s important to not just take the information we find with a grain of salt, but to actively question its source. Curiosity, the insistent demand to push the boundaries of what is known, and asking, “Who says?” are exactly what the world needs right now.

Leadership and Innovation

A person with ADD may be more interested in shaping his  environment than being shaped by it. This is a fundamental characteristic of ADD; it’s often labeled “defiance” or sometimes “inability to follow directions.” It means you want to impact or change the world you live in. Outside of the classroom this is called leadership. If you can effectively tap into your desire to change the way the world operates, you will go far in your professional career.  In the workplace, this is called innovation. In the current culture – and most industries – innovation is the only way to survive and thrive. Being at the head of a technological curve and doing things better and more quickly can help businesses get ahead. This is true even if you aren’t in the technology industry itself – the adoption of cutting-edge technologies drives most industries.

When you begin to recognize your own gifts, you set the stage for real world success. My book The Gift of Adult ADD profiles many successful ADD adults who find happiness and great success by embracing their differences as unusual and distinct abilities.

Learn more about this at Dr. Honos-Webb’s presentation at the Advance LA transition conference: www.advancela.org/conference

LIKE The Gift of ADHD https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gift-of-ADHD/136160059803348

Meet Glen Finland!

Glen is the author of Next Stop, a memoir based on her May 2009 Washington Post Magazine feature story about parenting a child with autism to adulthood and then learning to let go, from AmyEinhornBooks/Putnam. Next Stop is a Summer 2012 Barnes&Noble Discover Great New Writers Pick and Penguin’s 2012 Book Club Pick for National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Glen is also the recipient of the 2012 Dean’s Medal for Leadership Excellence in Communication from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism.

A former TV news reporter, Glen’s freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Family Circle, Autism Speaks, Babble.com, American Magazine, Revolution, A Cup of Comfort and the East Coast Women’s Anthology. A featured autism advocate in various news outlets, including NPR and CNN, she is also the author of The Sweetgrass Code, The Inside of an Egg, and the play, Changing Places: A Kid’s View of Shelter Living. She is the recipient of the Southeastern Writers Association Best Fiction award and a Noted Writer from the 2005 and 2006 Boston Fiction Festivals. She received her MFA from American University in Washington, DC, where she has taught writing. Glen is a Fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Casa Libre in Tucson.

For more information about the conference please visit our conference website!

1. Identify potential barriers that young adults with autism spectrum disorders, Asperger’s Disorder, executive functioning difficulties, ADHD, and other social or emotional issues face as they age out of the school system and the public resources available to them.
2. Describe necessary life skills that young adults must learn before they can successfully transition to increased independence and identify effective ways to help them develop these skills
3. Identify strategies and tools that young adults, parents, educators, and professionals can use to facilitate the transition process
4. Recognize academic and career resources available to young adults with special needs and identify how they and their families can successfully access them
5. Develop an evidence-based comprehensive transition plan for young adults who are preparing to transition to college, the workforce, or increased independence

The five gifts of ADHD can offer many advantages in the workplace. The breakthrough insight every person with ADHD and parent of a child with ADHD needs to understand is that the real world does not have to be at all like school. In the school system, the expectation is that you should be good at everything. In the real world, you only have to be really good at something to be highly successful. The five gifts of ADHD include creativity, emotional sensitivity, exuberance, interpersonal empathy and being nature smart (The Gift of Adult ADD, 2008).

I remember the look of awe on one of my teen client’s face when he realized that he could make a living doing precisely the things that got him into trouble at school.  As a physical therapist, he could spend all day talking with other people and being physically active —- and drum roll please…. make a living at it rather than getting in trouble for it. His gifts of exuberance and interpersonal empathy would now help transform other people’s lives.

One woman thought of school as a social event that was occasionally interrupted by a teacher. She graduated high school with little interest in continuing her education.  Somehow she learned of a major at San Francisco State University called Recreation, Parks and Tourism.  Imagine a curriculum that included these courses

• Aquatic Sports
• Beginning Sailing
• Beginning Rock Climbing
• Introduction to Back Country Skiing
• Lake and Sea Kayaking
• Small Boat Sailing
• Women’s Backpacking

Her gift of being nature smart, interpersonally empathic and exuberant would be put to good use! Seeing these majors and jobs, I have to ask myself why does the education system seem to forget that not all students are on track to make a living as an accountant or lawyer?

Equally exciting is that the rapid changes in digital and global technology has created jobs that never existed even 5 years ago. Many of these jobs are suited for people who are more drawn to taking in information visually rather than through reading and writing. Examples include developing Apps, social media marketing jobs and website creation, design and promotion. One job description to emerge that seems particularly well suited for individuals with ADHD and even dyslexia is called digital storytelling.

According to Wikipedia, digital storytelling is

“…the process by which diverse peoples share their life story and creative imaginings with others. This newer form of storytelling emerged with the advent of accessible media production techniques, hardware and software, including but not limited to digital cameras, digital voice recorders…”

Adults who struggled with reading can find careers that cater directly to a generation that turns to Youtube to research a topic. Digital storytelling is also a job description as companies are catching on that they have to use marketing tools that easily capture the attention of a culture that seems to be en masse going the route of ADD.

LIKE The Gift of ADHD  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gift-of ADHD/136160059803348

Free podcasts at http://www.addisagift.com

I will be giving the talk ”The 5 Gifts of ADHD in The Workplace” at the Advance LA Innovate Conference. If you want to share your stories with me of the Gifts of ADHD in the workplace I would love to hear them. To register for the conference, please visit www.advancela.org/conference

Cormac is a young man who lives with his mother, Elisabeth, in a tiny apartment in New York City’s West Village. He is preparing to enter law school and Elisabeth’s employer has cut back her hours, so money is tight. Iris, a young blogger from Queens, hires Cormac to design her website. What ensues is a boy meets girl love story unlike any other.

Writer Ken LaZebnik’s highly acclaimed drama, “On the Spectrum,” provides a glimpse into the minds and hearts of two people faced with autism spectrum disorders. The production, directed by Jacqueline Schultz  and currently on stage at the Los Angeles Fountain Theatre, captures the strengths and quirks of the main characters as they navigate through life. More importantly, the play serves as a testament to the need for increased awareness about autism.

The play “does a great a job of breaking down the myths about autism” says Schultz. “They can feel. They can fall in love. They can get actively involved in their own community.”

Advance LA is proud to welcome LaZebnik to Day One of the Innovate Conference, where he will be giving a presentation about his celebrated production.  In addition, the play’s three actors — Dan Shaked as Mac, Virginia Newcomb as Iris, and Jeanie Hackett as Elisabeth — are scheduled to perform a scene from the play for Friday’s conference attendees.

For an in-depth review of “On the Spectrum”, read the Los Angeles Times Theater Review at http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-0320-on-the-spectrum-review-20130320,0,1203463.story.

For full performance dates and times, visit the Fountain Theatre website at http://www.fountaintheatre.com/.

For more information about the Conference, visit www.advancela.org/conference. 

 Meet Erik Carter!

Erik Carter is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University.  His research and teaching focuses on strategies for supporting meaningful school inclusion and promoting valued roles in school, work, and community settings for children and adults with autism and intellectual disability. He has co-authored five books—including The New Transition Handbook: Strategies Secondary School Teachers Use that Work (Brookes Publishing) and Peer Support Strategies: Improving all Students’ Social Lives and Learning (Brookes Publishing). He has co-authored more than 100 articles and book chapters and was the recipient of the Distinguished Early Career Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children, the Early Career Award from the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and the Patricia Sitlington Research Award from the Division on Career Development and Transition.

 Below is a summary of his two talks:

What We Know About Helping Youth with Exceptional Needs to Flourish During and After High School: Promoting Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships:

 For most youth, life after high school offers an exciting array of opportunities and new pursuits. Yet, far too many young people with autism leave school without the skills, supports, relationships, and connections needed to pursue their aspirations for adulthood. Follow-up studies consistently highlight the persistence and pervasiveness of disappointing outcomes in the years following graduation. This presentation will focus on current research addressing effective approaches for promoting (a) access to rigorous learning opportunities in secondary school, (b) connecting youth to relevant school and community experiences, and (c) fostering supportive peer and adult relationships.  Recommendations for research and practice aimed at promoting successful transitions will be offered.

Evidence-Based Peer Support Strategies: Promoting Inclusion, Learning, and Relationships for Adolescents

This presentation will address the effectiveness and feasibility of peer support arrangements as an evidence-based approach for promoting curricular access and social interaction within inclusive classrooms and extracurricular activities. Participants will learn about (a) how peer support strategies are mutually beneficial for students with disabilities and peers, (b) strategies for recruiting students, developing effective support plans, and orienting/supporting peers, and (c) evaluating the social and academic impact of peer supports in their schools.

For more information about the Advance LA 2013 conference on transition please visit our conference website!