Happy AD/HD Awareness Day!

Editor's Note: OK, truth be told, yesterday [Sept. 20] was National AD/HD Awareness Day -- a fact I didn't discover till day's end [8 p.m. CT], when I was simply too focused on doing something relaxing; e.g., watching the two-hour Season 2 finale rerun of "Grey's Anatomy." Sorry about the belated greeting. I'll try to make future greetings more timely...

As America marks the third official celebration of National AD/HD Awareness Day, it's important to note that 15 million people -- that's 5% of all boys, girls, men and women of all races, socioeconomic classes, religions, etc. -- are affected by the "disorder." Some people are quick to dismiss ADD as nothing other than an excuse for being "lazy," "stupid," "selfish" and/or "crazy." Truth be told, this insidious condition is real, and far more pervasive than most folks choose to believe.

AD/HD's Challenges, Gifts and Myths
I have ADD -- which, unfortunately, I didn't discover till adulthood. Now, I'm going to do all I can to educate, enlighten and inspire other ADDers, and inform people that ADD's most common manifestations -- e.g., restlessness, impulsivity, distractibility, think-outside-box creativity, sharp intuition -- are challenges and gifts to be faced head-on and embraced for all their inherent worth. [BTW, ADDers think outside the box because we can't think inside the box!]

From time to time, ProsperNow will feature tidbits about ADD and optimizing mental health -- something that can benefit anyone who's truly committed to living a prosperous life. For now, I'll simply start by briefly noting some of the myths surrounding ADD -- compliments of the astute folks at ADDitude, the premier magazine devoted to exploring AD/HD:
* Myth #1: AD/HD isn't a real medical disorder.
* Myth #2: Children who are given special accommodations becase of their AD/HD are getting an unfair advantage.
* Myth #3: Children with AD/HD eventually outgrow their conditon.
* Myth #4: AD/HD affects only boys.
* Myth #5: AD/HD is the result of bad parenting.
* Myth #6: Children who take AD/HD medication are more likely to abuse drugs when they become teenagers.
* Myth #7: People who have AD/HD are stupid or lazy -- they never amount to anything.

Click here for elaboration on these myths. Stay tuned for features about some of the people, past and present, whose keen insights and very lives have debunked these notions and created far-reaching, win-win-win wealth in myriad forms.