Daily Excerpt: Andrew's Awesome Adventures with His ADHD Brain (Wilcox) - My ADHD Brain Is a Black Hole of Creativity

 

Today's book excerpt comes from Andrew's Awesome Adventures with His ADHD Brain by Kristin and Andrew Wilcox. 

My ADHD Brain Is a Black Hole of Creativity

 

Black holes are areas of outer space with gravity so strong things get sucked in and never escape.  My ADHD brain is like a black hole of creative ideas. I don’t mind school projects, figuring out what I am going to do and how I am going to do it. The ADHD elephant can focus so much better on a crafty school project than on writing an essay for English class.

This week, I have to make a model of a bacteria cell for science class.

“Mom, can we go to the craft store? I need supplies for a school project.”  

Once there, I jump out of the car and run into the craft store. Mom can barely keep up. I zip in and out of the aisles, looking for supplies; a constant stream of ideas swirling around in my tornado brain.

As soon as we get home, I race upstairs to work on my model, eager to get started. As I work on my project, I suddenly I get a whiff of the delicious cookies Mom is baking. I can’t wait to eat them with the ice cream she bought at the store yesterday. I emerge from my room, go downstairs, and find Mom and Dad in the kitchen.

“Andrew!”

Mom probably won’t let me have any cookies now, it’s too close to dinner.

“Andrew, what’s that in your hands?”

Oh, right, my cell model.   “It’s the model I made of a bacteria cell for science class.”

Mom and Dad both look at the model and remark on my originality and creativity. Mom and Dad are always telling me how creative, imaginative, and good at solving problems I am. The next day at school when I turn in my cell model, the science teacher likes it so much she displays it in her classroom. My black hole ADHD brain made me do it but in a good way this time.

When I get home from school the next day, I head up to my room and grab the paper airplane book off my desk. Flipping through the book, I try to decide which model to make. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the pile of cloths[BL1]  on my bedroom floor. Mom asked me to clean those up. Oh, well!

Book in hand, I walk downstairs and into the dining room table after grabbing Mom’s scissors from the kitchen, the ones she is always looking for because I constantly lay them down in random places. I get to work cutting out the parts of the airplane model. Where did I leave the glue? Scanning the table piled with abandoned craft projects, half-finished paper airplanes, broken electronics, model rockets, and empty paint bottles, I spot the glue on its side with the cap off.  Glop plop. A big ball of glue oozes out of the tube and all over my thumb as I start gluing the paper airplane together. My thoughts drift aimlessly as I stare out of the window in the dining room. It’s a sunny day. Maybe I will ask Dad if he wants to throw the football outside, or maybe I can ride my bike to my friend’s house.

Oh, no! Looking back to my paper airplane, I realize my thumb is stuck to Mom’s dining room table. I pry it off only to see an incriminating glue thumb print left behind. I grab some random papers from the graveyard of unfinished craft projects on the table and cover the glue thumbprint, hoping Mom won’t notice. Not likely.

Heading outside to ride my bike, I spot the jar of craft sticks sitting on the worktable in the garage. That jar is always turning up in random places! Forgetting about everything else, I jump on my bike, pedal faster and faster, and speed down the driveway and onward to my friend’s house.  

* * *

Did you know?

Having a creative, imaginative, problem-solving ADHD brain can make you better at music, art, or computer games. I play the piano and the trumpet although my ADHD brain doesn’t like to practice since practicing is boring. I like to make objects out of paper, using a folding technique called origami, and I take pottery lessons. David Neeleman, who started the successful JetBlue airline company, says his ADHD brain is what makes him successful since he is able to be creative and “think outside the box.”

 

 

Book description:

In this two-part book Andrew and his neuroscientist mom each tell their story about living with the inattentive subtype of ADHD.

How do you survive life and middle school with an ADHD elephant in your brain? Kids with ADHD will relate to Andrew's reactions to everyday and school-related situations, like remembering to turn in homework, staying organized, and making friends. Using practical strategies Andrew learns to manage his ADHD even when his brain sometimes feels "like and overstuffed garbage can, the lid won't stay on and garbage is falling out all over the floor". He even realizes there is a positive side to having ADHD like creativity, fearlessness and hyperfocus.
 
Dr. Wilcox discusses the science behind ADHD, parent-to-parent, from someone living in the trenches, learning to work with Andrew's ADHD brain. She discusses the significance of various aspects of inattentive-type ADHD and the theory and practices of the education and medical professions related to them. Two helpful appendices include a means for parents to "diagnose" the inattentive subtype of ADHD and a list of resources for parents and children with ADHD.

This book provides unique insights into ADHD behaviors and suggests highly pragmatic and successfully implemented strategies for children with the inattentive subtype of ADHD and their parents (with implications for educators and others who work with ADHD children). A must read for kids with ADHD and their parents!

From Amazon: Customers find the book provides brilliant insight into inattentive ADHD, with one customer noting it's a wonderful informative read for children with the condition. The book is easy to read and customers consider it a must-read. They appreciate its pacing, with one customer mentioning it's perfect for both parents and teachers.

AWARDS

Literary Titan Gold Award
Best Indie Book Award
Readers' Favorite Book Award
Pinnacle Book Achievement Award

Read more posts about the Wilcoxes and their book, click HERE.

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