Attention Deficits in Superintendents, Too - Brief Article

School Administrator, Jan, 2000 by Lewis Holloway

Recently, while doing research for my 12-year-old son Josh who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, I noticed similarities between ADHD traits and the personalities of many of my school administrator colleagues.

Most researchers say that this unconventional approach to learning affects between 5 and 10 percent of the population. Some think it may be as high as 20 percent. It affects more boys than girls who are so identified because they:

* fidget with hands and feet often and have difficulty staying seated;

* are distracted easily, have difficulty following directions and are impatient for activities to begin;

* have difficulty sustaining attention (but can do so for extremely long periods if interested in what's happening);

* do not complete tasks regularly;

* talk excessively and interrupt others, yet pay little attention to what is being said;

* cannot play quietly and often are too rough; and

* engage in physically dangerous activities without considering consequences.

According to psychologist George C. Williams, author of Adaptation and Natural Selection, if the frequency of a gene occurs in more than one percent of a population, then it is not a random mutation but is assumed to have been selected for adaptation. If this is true, then ADHD is not a disorder but rather a perfectly normal subset of demographics.

A Positive Side

Individuals with this discovery-learning technique are born explorers, dissatisfied with the mundane and constantly seeking new ways to improve. They will have 10 thoughts to someone else's one. Gallagher explains it well in her cyberspace article "Born to Explore": "These people have thoughts with no brakes." They monitor their environment constantly and possess a sensitivity so well defined that they often mask it, giving the impression they are "stand-offish."

ADHD people can seem tireless, capable of sustained drives on projects they find interesting. They are highly adaptable, visual, concrete thinkers who see tangible goals even if they can't always articulate them.

Although many students with ADHD fail classes in spite of their efforts, they are great learners when left to their own technique. This basically means exploring all the possibilities. People thought to have had ADHD include Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin, Ernest Hemingway and Mozart.

Qualities Among Us

What does this have to do with school superintendents? In my 14 years as a chief school administrator, I have seen many of my peers operate successfully in just this way:

* Can't tolerate small talk. ("Let's get to the bottom line," they demand.)

* Will give a conference presenter 10 minutes to spark their interest before pulling out something unrelated to read or moving on to another session.

* Will fidget in meetings, stand up and go lean against the wall.

* Often interrupt while others are talking.

* Make decisions in a New York minute.

* Love the thrill of leading a school district in crisis, and once the problems are solved, move on to the next challenge.

In truth, there are few careers for which being an ADHD learner is better suited than the superintendency. Think of the range of things we deal with on any given day. You might be in the middle of considering the various aspects of a multimillion-dollar building project, including the environmental needs as they relate to learning. The phone rings and it is the school board attorney needing to discuss your position on a teacher non-renewal, the upcoming student expulsion hearing and the local newspaper's editorial claiming the school board violated the Freedom of Information Act at its last meeting. In addition, litigation is pending against the district on age discrimination and property tax collections.

Next the school board president is on the line to ask about the board policy on school attendance and wondering why a person with an unexcused absence gets three days to make up homework and an excused absence gets only one. And why, he wants to know, is the homecoming date changed? Oh, by the way, did you hear six of our cheerleaders were plastered at cheerleading camp.

Add to this the school board's desire for you to make educational decisions relating to children as quickly as possible, while you maintain a harmonious relationship with the staff. Doesn't this sound like an environment where having an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder might work to your advantage? Could these character traits be inherited or is there a possibility that the superintendency can create ADHD?

Accommodating Diversity

Research indicates the following compensation techniques for ADHD:

* Eliminate ticking clocks, radios or background music. Operate from a clean desk, and have calls held when you are busy on a project.

* Use a Day Timer or similar system for tracking your tasks.

* Acknowledge personal strengths and weaknesses, then hire people who complement your abilities--and trust them to do their jobs.

* To offset the propensity for snap decision-making, hold all major decisions for at least 24 hours.