If you are like most of us with ADHD, you have no doubt been told about the disadvantages of having it. You’ve endured negative comments and your own fears about handling this temperamental disorder! Believe it or not, there ARE advantages to having ADHD. While the ADHD brain is certainly wired differently, their are also some unexpected benefits. Take a look at these positive characteristics of people with ADHD. While not all are present in every ADHD personality, you will recognize at least some of them in yourself and those you love with ADHD.
1. Determination
Although staying interested in a project and preventing boredom is a hard task for an ADHDer, if he is interested or invested, there is typically great determination. When armed with drive and the skills/talents/strategies necessary to do so, an ADHDer is bound for success!
2. Hyper-Focus
While it can be frustrating to watch your ADHD child hyper-focus on some things, especially when you are trying to get his attention, this ability is also one that many people without ADHD wish they had. When this trait is put to good use and channeled properly, it enables you to get the job done.
3. Problem Solving
Combine this trait with determination and the ability to hyper-focus, and you will find an individual who will stop at nothing to achieve a final result.
4. Empathy
People who have ADHD often have the tremendous ability to connect with others. Maybe it’s because they have have so many obstacles to overcome that they understand others more easily. Or maybe it’s because they feel things intensely and can intuitively tell how others feels. Whatever it is, they’ve got it.
5. Intuition
Like I said, a lot of people with ADHD seem to have a flair for understanding where others are coming from and can sense what they are feeling. They are great helpers and are excellent at caring for others.
6. Imagination
Ask an ADHD person a “what if” question, and you will see how many ideas he can generate. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the differently wired brain, but they seem to feel freer to express ideas, many of which are “outside the box!”
7. Drama
Often when we say someone is dramatic, it’s not a compliment, right? For a person with ADHD, that dramatic flair is usually caught up in the ability to be funny. Most ADHDers are excellent at being able to laugh at themselves and to help others learn not to take themselves so seriously.
8. Creativity
Plenty of people who have ADHD are some of the most creative out there! They have had to learn how to do things differently, and have had to learn how to cope with the differences they have from others. I don’t know if this is the reason they tend to be more creative or not. Combined with their imaginations, you can see how the creativity can blossom.
9. Strength
People with ADHD have had to overcome obstacles of all types that are quite different form the rest of the population. The ability to address these obstacles relies on the ADHDer’s strength to persevere and to become resilient in the face of trouble. When this strength is present, they can endure anything and bounce right back!
10. Originality
Typically with an ADHD person, what you see is exactly what you get. ADHDers don’t usually hide themselves – they are “out there” and don’t wish to pretend they are something they are not. With this comes an ability to see the world differently and to embrace it without judgement.
So the next time you find yourself focusing on the negatives of ADHD, look at this article again. Not everything about having ADHD is bad! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
