9781422280294

Chapter One

What Is ADHD? W hen Kerri MacKay is in class, she feels like a “pinball.” She can’t focus. She can’t concentrate. She describes the feeling as “bouncing from one thing to another.” In her blog, she writes, “There are no windows and my gaze drifts toward the orange door of my classroom. My foot bounces up and down, and my attention pings around during the lecture. . . . My professor is speaking just a few feet away, but he fades in and out of my focus.” Kerri’s attention shifts between the presentation and the notes she’s taking on her computer. She hears a bit of laughter from other students, yet her mind drifts, like a rudderless ship meandering on a dark stormy ocean. “This isn’t a boring class. . . . I want to pay attention. . . . But I’m caught up in the chaos of the sounds of my fellow students—zippers, coughs, pens, keyboard clicks. . . . This is just a snippet of what ADHD looks, sounds, and feels like to me.” Kerri is not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 11 percent of children between the ages of 4 and 17 suffer from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although symptoms can differ somewhat from person to person, ADHD is characterized by

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