=== Center of Attention ===
Newsletter of CHADD of Northern California
Also at: http://www.chaddnorcal.org/newsletter
29 March 2004

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>> IN THIS ISSUE <<
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*Calendar of Events
*Announcements: Spring CHADD Elections Coming Up
*Feature Article: Evolution, Neuro-cognitive Diversity and ADHD
*Please Tell Us
*Subscription Information
*CHADD Information

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>> CALENDAR OF EVENTS <<
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This calendar only has events for the next 3 or 4 weeks listed. It
also does not list some other CHADD groups which may be closer to you
and it does not list some non-CHADD events. For a thorough calendar,
look at: http://www.chaddnorcal.org/schedule and check the links at
the top.

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Contra Costa - 3/30/2004, Tues. 7 - 9 pm
Danville Parent Meeting: -- Topic followed by Group Discussion
Los Cerros Middle School Library, Danville - Contact: Dana: 925-886-8735
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San Francisco - 4/1/2004, Thu. 6 - 8 pm
Developing Minds Video Series, featuring Dr. Mel Levine - Thinking with Numbers
San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco - Contact: Marilyn Dong,
Librarian: Resource Collection for Learning Differences 415/557-4540
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Santa Clara - 4/1/2004, Thu. 7:15 - 9:30 pm
Kitty Petty ADD/LD Institute - Discussion, Sharing Successful
Strategies with other ADDults.
Friends Meeting House, Palo Alto - Contact: Kitty Petty ADD/LD
Institute: 650-329-9443 or visit www.kpinst.org/
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Marin - 4/5/2004, Mon. 12:30 am - 2:30 pm
Parent Resource & Support Group -- Call First...
30 Catalpa, Mill Valley - Contact: Victoria Vogel & Holly Seerley: 415-383-6048
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Contra Costa - 4/7/2004, Wed. 7 - 9 pm
Walnut Creek Adult Topical Meeting
Kaiser Mental Health, Walnut Creek - Contact: Donna Love: 925-687-4324
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Alameda - 4/7/2004, Wed. 7 - 9 pm
Tri-Valley Parent Support Meeting
Thomas J. Hart Middle School, Pleasanton - Contact: JoAnn Matone: 925-484-2173
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Santa Clara - 4/7/2004, Wed. Reg: 7pm, Meet 7:30pm
Lew Mills, PhD, MFT - Anger and ADHD -- Lew Mills, PhD, Marriage &
Family Therapist.
Friends Meeting House, Palo Alto - Contact: Silicon Valley Warmline:
650-949-5472
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Marin - 4/13/2004, Tues. 7-9 pm
AD/HD and Temperament - Mary Jane DeWolf-Smith, RN, MA, MFT -- What
are the nine temperament traits? How can temperament of adults and
children be accurately assessed? What typical screenings for AD/HD
(Conners, Stonybrook) tell us. Learn about the benefits of using
temperament language in the home and at school.
APPLE Family Works is a non-profit agency for persons of all ages
wishing to improve their well-being. 415-492-0720 -
www.familyworks.org
TBA, Corte Madera - Contact: Beverlee: 415-789-9464
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Santa Clara - 4/13/2004, Tues. 7:15 - 9 pm
Support Group for Partners! -- Support and community-resource
information for the partners of folks with ADHD. PLEASE NOTE: This is
NOT a support group for people with AD/HD, nor for couples, nor for
parents. It is EXCLUSIVELY for PARTNERS of people with ADHD, and
others will have to be turned away.
Friends Meeting House, Palo Alto - Contact: Gina Pera: 888-759-9758
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Contra Costa - 4/14/2004, Wed. 7 - 9 pm
Antioch Parent's Support Group - Topic TBA -- For parents and
caregivers of children with AD/HD offering the opportunity to share
stresses, strategies and successes.
Sutter Delta Medical Center, Antioch - Contact: Colleen Ruddock: 925-757-2372
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Napa - 4/15/2004, Thu. 7 - 9 pm
Parent Support Group -- Focusing on education, ADHD strengths, and
strategies to manage the challenges of ADHD.
St. John's Lutheran Church, Napa - Contact: Karen Shepard:
707-257-8113, or ksnapa@...
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San Francisco - 4/19/2004, Mon. 7 - 9 pm
Adult Success Group -- Share skills and strategies for success at
home, in the workplace, in relationships, etc. (It's a good idea to
call to confirm dates, get ideas on parking. etc.)
First Unitarian Universalist Church, San Francisco - Contact: Rachel
Rosenfeld: 415-362-7227
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Online - 4/20/2004, Tues. 4 - 6 pm PST
"Ask The Expert" Chat -- Patricia Quinn, M.D. will chat about Women and Girls
Online Chat, Internet - Contact: Message Line: 888-759-9758
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Contra Costa - 4/20/2004, Tues. 7 - 9 pm
Danville Adult Meeting: Brain Styles and Organizing - Lew Mills, PhD
-- Topic followed by Group Discussion
Los Cerros Middle School Library, Danville - Contact: Dana: 925-886-8735
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Marin - 4/20/2004, Tues. 7-9 pm
Adult Support Group, with SueZee Poinsett, Professional coach and
organizer. -- Free, drop-in peer-support group. Talk with others who
really understand. And share and develop life skills.
Marin Community Mental Health, Greenbrae - Contact: Beverlee: 415-789-9464
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Contra Costa - 4/21/2004, Wed. 7 - 9 pm
Walnut Creek Adult General Support Meeting -- Ongoing, confidential
support groups for Adults with ADHD
Kaiser Mental Health, Walnut Creek - Contact: Donna Love: 925-687-4324
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Santa Clara - 4/21/2004, Wed. Reg: 7pm, Meet 7:30pm
Silicon Valley Adult, Parent and Spouse Support Groups -- Separate
peer-facilitated groups let you share struggles and strategies with
each other. Includes video.
Friends Meeting House, Palo Alto - Contact: Silicon Valley Warmline:
650-949-5472
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Marin - 4/26/2004, Mon. 12:30 am - 2:30 pm
Parent Resource & Support Group -- Call First...
30 Catalpa, Mill Valley - Contact: Victoria Vogel & Holly Seerley: 415-383-6048
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Alameda - 4/27/2004, Tues. 7 - 9 pm
Adult Support Group
Lynnwood United Methodist Church, Pleasanton - Contact: Pattie: 925-548-3997
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Contra Costa - 4/27/2004, Tues. 7 - 9 pm
Danville Parent Meeting: Advocacy for Your Child -- Topic followed by
Group Discussion
Los Cerros Middle School Library, Danville - Contact: Dana: 925-886-8735
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San Mateo - 4/29/2004, through 5/1/2004
Annual Conference -- Sponsored by Learning Disabilities Association of CA.
San Mateo Marriott Hotel, San Mateo - Contact: LDA of CA: 916-745-7882
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>> ANNOUNCEMENTS <<
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Spring CHADD Elections Coming Up

If you are interested in a position on the CHADD of Northern
California Executive Board, or would like to help in the process of
the elections, please drop us a line. You can e-mail us just by
responding to this newsletter.

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>> FEATURE ARTICLE <<
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Then What Are Toenails For?: Evolution, Neuro-cognitive Diversity and ADHD

by Lew Mills, PhD, LMFT

(The following article has been published with kind permission from
Lew Mills, PhD, LMFT, a Bay Area psychotherapist working with
Attention Deficit in Adults.)

As I sit and begin to write, my laptop balances precariously on my
knees. If it should slip, it might smash onto my toes. However, my
ancestors have evolved a smart little defense for my benefit. My
tough toenails protect my toes (though not enough). Is that what my
toenails are for?

Since long before Darwin, we have been inclined to presume that if
something serves a purpose, it was more than likely designed in order
to serve that purpose, (through evolution in this case). Furthermore,
we are of course inclined to interpret purpose in terms of our own
frame of reference. That's why the huge size of an avocado pit seems
like such a waste. All that space could have been devoted to more
fruit, if the avocado were better evolved.

But you are already ahead of me. It must be that the avocado tree
needs such a large pit in order to insure the success of the next
generation. Do you know that? Lots of trees get by with much smaller
seeds. How do you know that you are not just inferring evolutionary
purpose from the result?

You wouldn't be the first person to do so. Evolutionary biologists
spend whole careers doing just that. There is a presumed sanctity to
anything that seems to have evolved: it must be the right answer to
some evolutionary challenge. Thus starts the debate about whether the
genes for ADHD may have begun with, or still serve, some
evolutionarily sanctified purpose.

Thom Hartmann and Russell Barkley have been the main protagonists in
the debate over whether there is some evolutionary purpose for the
ADHD trait. Hartmann suggests that it was an appropriate adaptation
for our, pre-agrarian "hunter-gatherer" ancestors. Barkley suggests
not, since it clearly causes impairment to modern humans. They are
both wrong.

Taking on Hartmann first: his real agenda is to sanctify ADHD traits
as purposeful, as part of the evolutionary plan, not just a mistake.
However, this is irrelevant even if he were right. Every trait that
evolves does so for a specific reason. But that does not confer any
intrinsic value to the trait. What if the main evolutionary effect of
the ADHD trait is to make young men and women less thoughtful about
the consequences of pregnancy? This might increase their evolutionary
success, much to the peril of the success of their lives. Their
"evolutionary" success does not mean that they have achieved
something we will condone as part of the "big plan" or as having
human value.

So ADHD, even if reflecting an evolutionary process, may be a
liability, particularly in the context of modern culture. However,
this perspective, championed by Barkley, has its own flaws. The worst
error is its circular logic: ADHD is defined as causing impairment,
(in two or more settings no less). Any counter-example of the
impairment model of ADHD automatically disqualifies itself, since it
is not "real" ADHD without impairment.

But that aside, most traits have their good and bad sides. Just
because studies on the impairments of ADHD find such impairments,
does not mean that impairments are all that ADHD brings. The gene
that causes the crippling disease sickle-cell anemia also protects
people from malaria, an infection that kills over a million people
every year. Would Barkley say that this was a good trait or a bad
one? What is the "purpose" of that gene? Is it to strangle blood
circulation, or to protect from malaria?

ADHD does not have a "purpose" anymore than the sickle-cell trait
does. Both may have evolutionary advantages, or they may be trials
for some future evolutionary turn. But it does not matter. ADHD
persists genetically because it has not yet conferred significantly
worse reproductive success than some alternative. This is neither an
endorsement nor a condemnation by evolution's "purposefulness."

Now as an aside, I want to agree that Hartmann's model is useful for
showing people with ADHD that they are not defined by their
impairments. There is little chance of successfully treating the
problems that ADHD does cause if a clinician is not able to support
the many strengths that this same person has. Treating a trait that
causes impairment leads to a very different outcome than imagining
there is such a thing as "an impaired person."

Conversely, telling a person with ADHD that they are merely a
misunderstood hunter is uplifting, but not helpful. In the end,
people want help with the things that are not yet working for them.
Call these things whatever you like, but they have to be addressed.

I now want to show you a place where thinking in evolutionary terms
can be very enlightening indeed. From the above it is clear that I
don't believe evolution knows what it wants or how to get it. It has
no foresight whatsoever, and makes no value judgment about what new
genetic twists may or may not be a good idea. It doesn't even have a
purpose. Evolution merely generates what in hindsight, so far, turn
out to be relatively good ideas.

How then does evolution work its magic? What it lacks in foresight,
it makes up for in creativity and perseverance. (Perhaps evolution
has ADHD?) Actually, evolution might be defined as nothing more than
creativity and perseverance. Our genes create some new twist, in a
blind impulsive way, and then go see if it works out. And then they
do it again and again and again for millions of years. If you try
enough different things, you are bound to look like a genius
eventually.

And there is the part that is evolution's true lesson. You have to
try enough different things. If the human genome had been all
"farmers", I am sure we would have been at a greater risk for
extinction at some point in our long history. Or if the genome had
been all "hunters" we would be confronted with more impairment now.
What evolution needs, wants and must have is diversity. It needs
enough different choices.

Since I am only likely to be here for a hundred years at best, I do
not suspect that I will see the broad sweep of evolution at the
genetic level. However, our culture can also be seen as evolving.
Cultural evolution requires the same sort of creativity and
perseverance.

Perseverance is likely so long as humans live together in groups. But
I would suggest that creativity is in serious jeopardy right now. The
ADHD has some promise to maintain that constant flow of new ways to
look at things. This does not mean that it is a better way,
necessarily. It just means that having choices is always better than
not having them. Then when something doesn't work, you have an
alternative.

Neuro-cognitive diversity-having people with different styles of
thinking-is likely helpful in maintaining a diverse set of viewpoints
in our culture. We can't say now which perspectives are going to pay
off, but the more different ones we have, the more likely that we
will have success.

Who knows? Perhaps in a few million years we will learn to use
toenails to help pick up a dropped contact lens. Maybe ADHD will
become a sought after trait for solving some problem that we cannot
even anticipate now. Or maybe not. I'll just be glad that we have
choices.

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>> PLEASE TELL US <<
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We thank members for their responses to the Newsletter. Any comments,
suggestions, or criticisms will be greatly appreciated. Please
continue to help us make this newsletter and CHADD of Northern
California more beneficial to you all.

We also invite readers to share their experiences with us and other
members. Please feel free to write to us about anything that you
would like to see published.

You can e-mail your comments to us at Lew@.... Simply
replying to this e-mail will also send your message to the editor.

Lew Mills, Editor

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About the Newsletter:

The Center of Attention is CHADD of Northern California's bi-weekly
newsletter. The newsletter is designed to keep you up to date with
CHADD of Northern California's activities and updates in the field.

* CHADD Works to Improve the Lives of People with
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder through Education, Advocacy,
and Support *

Contact:
--

Lew Mills, PhD, MFT
Editor, "Center of Attention"
CHADD of Northern California, Chapter # 504
mailto:Lew@...
http://www.chaddnorcal.org/newsletter
Fax or Voice Message: 510-291-2950
Toll Free 888-759-9758