(well, one part of me, anyways...)
By Bob Seay
AD/HD May Not Have Always Been a Disorder; Research indicates that traits may have contributed to the survival of early humans
Thom Hartmann took a lot of flak when he proposed an evolutionary model of AD/HD. Now, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have concluded that his controversial theory may well be correct. Researchers now believe that a gene variation associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) first appeared 10,000 to 40,000 years ago and was probably a significant advantage to the early humans who had it.
In an article published in the January 8, 2002 edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Dr. Robert K. Moyzis and other researchers speculate that early humans with AD/HD traits such as novelty-seeking, increased aggression and perseverance were more likely to survive. These traits have been associated with the DRD4 7R gene. Up to half of AD/HD individuals have this same variant gene, according to Moyzis, one of the authors of the study. More information about the article is available online.
Today, many of these same traits are deemed inappropriate in the typical classroom setting and hence diagnosed as AD/HD. Like their early ancestors, today's AD/HD children are more active and often more aggressive than their peers. These children are always looking for something new to capture their attention. Once they find something interesting, such as a video game, they "lock on" and focus intently on the task. They are often unable to shift their focus to something new.
Researchers speculate that a "survival of the fittest" scenario may have contributed to an ever-increasing number of people with AD/HD. For example, being more aggressive, inquisitive, and willing to take risks meant a higher probability for mate selection and perhaps multiple sex partners, spreading the gene – and its associated AD/HD behaviors – through the population. Primitive hunters with this gene would have been more successful and would have been better providers for their families and tribes. These and other factors may explain why the gene is so prevalent now.
What does the man who has been saying this for nine years say about the most recent research? "I appreciate the acknowledgment of my early work by Dr. Swanson of UCI, one of the authors of this study, in his public comments after the presentation of this study at last fall's CHADD meeting," Hartmann told additudemag.
"In light of these findings, we must also revisit the way we approach AD/HD treatment in adults, moving from a broken/pathology/therapy model to a skill-set/opportunity/coaching model," he added, noting that Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin and other innovators, inventors, and rebels of history would probably be diagnosed as having AD/HD if they were alive today. "This also demonstrates the need for us to revisit the way our schools and classrooms are organized, so our ADHD children are no longer wounded by the experience of growing up in public school." The Hunter School is a private school that specializes in teaching AD/HD students, using a curriculum based on instructional concepts created by Hartmann and others.
Hartmann's Hunter-Farmer theory, first presented in his 1993 book Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception, was featured in a Time Magazine article and was widely embraced by many in the ADD Community as a more positive view of the diagnosis.
Mainstream researchers, however, were not so quick to accept such an evolutionary – and revolutionary – idea. Hartmann and his ideas were blasted by many, including noted AD/HD researcher Russell Barkley, Ph.D. Speaking in the keynote address at the 1999 CHADD Conference, Barkley expressed sentiments he had previously published an article co-written with Sam Goldstein, Ph.D. ( ADHD, HUNTING, AND EVOLUTION: "JUST SO" STORIES. )
"(It) is not surprising that there is an increasingly popular, and to some extent, seductive trend among the lay public to view symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder … as adaptive behaviors," wrote Barkley and Goldstein. "Although this romantic view is embraced by many and may well pass the Readers Digest criteria for publication, is it truly accurate?"
Barkley continued, "In not a single instance of peer reviewed, published literature have symptoms or consequences of AD/HD been found to hold an advantage… Further, readers pursuing a brief introduction to evolutionary theory and evolutionary psychology quickly realize that it is implausible to perceive symptoms or behaviors related to AD/HD as being advantageous regardless of the time or cultural context in which one examines these data."
Barkley's comments came as a slap in the face to many in the ADD community.
Popular or not, Russell Barkley is perhaps the most significant source of much of what we currently know about AD/HD. His work has been used by other researchers, doctors, therapists, teachers and parents. His ideas about how AD/HD should be treated and managed have allowed millions of AD/HD children and adults to lead normal, productive lives. The ADD Community owes much, including our respect and gratitude, to Dr. Russell Barkley.
Likewise, people who have AD/HD owe much to Thom Hartmann, who stood up nine years ago and dared to disagree with the conventional wisdom. Hartmann's theories about AD/HD provided the hope and self-respect that had been missing from the medical model of the "disorder." His thoughts about AD/HD, education and other topics are sometimes controversial and always compelling. Books and articles by Hartmann are available on his web site at http://www.thomhartmann.com/home-add.shtml.
Research like the Irvine study can help doctors, teachers and parents to better understand how their AD/HD children think and learn. But for those of us who have AD/HD, the Irvine study provides an important link to our past and hopeful possibilities for the future.