Have a Disorder, Build a Website - Attention Deficit Disorder
| Leonard Holmes, Ph.D. http://mentalhealth.about.com |
Earlier we explored websites created by persons diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, Dissociative Disorders, Eating Disorders, and Depression. There seems to be less stigma among the wired computer-literate generation than in the general population. Much of the web is autobiographical, and many people's biography includes a diagnosis. These sites are conceived to help others. There is information to help fellow consumers/patients, information for friends and family members, and information for the general public.
Persons with Attention Deficit Disorder have created some extremely interesting sites. Other interesting sites have been created by parents of ADD children. Bob Seay was About.com's original ADD Guide. Before About (or The Mining Company), Bob was the webmaster for Bob's Little Corner of the Web, a creative site on ADD which has had a strong following among consumers and families. If you visit his original site, be sure to click on a button to change the color scheme. (It must be an ADD thing.)
When Bob had the About.com ADD site he listed two choices for best ADD "homepage." The first was Brandi Valentine's Homepage. I liked it too, but I found it slightly disorganized. But many of these ADD sites seem slightly disorganized. It was a huge page which you keep scrolling down and down. I'm not sure whether Brandy has ADD or whether she is a parent of ADD children, but her page had that "ADD look" to it in 1997. There were a lot of good links, along with plenty of opportunities to interact with others. Her site has evolved into a very professional-looking site.
Born to Explore - the Other Side of ADD is his other favorite. I really like this site too. It is created by by Teresa Gallagher who simply describes herself as "ADHD/ENTP" (a reference to her "disorder" and her Myers-Briggs type). This site has an extremely positive view of ADD, and ties the disorder to various temperament types. It is more organized than some of the ADD sites and has excellent links to resources. This is a totally positive site which looks at ADD as a gift rather than a disorder. Be sure to visit it for a different perspective.
Other interesting sites are produced by persons with ADD or by parents of ADD kids. Paul Reynolds has a site originally emphasizing some of the books he found most helpful in understanding his own ADD. There is also a page on creativity, and a page on the basics of ADD. Beth Dodge's Little Corner of Cyberspace includes more biography than some of the sites. Beth called herself "Sleepwalker" until she discovered ADD support on the Net. She is quite open and honest about her life on the site. UnnaWhim with ADD is another site with music, some songs less annoying than others. It has interesting fast-loading animations and a very light tone.
I especially liked Larry's Home Page. It is written by an ADD adult who also has an ADD child. In describing the relationship between his ADD and his son's, he states:
I guess it is easier to relate to someone with ADHD when you have it yourself. This disease is hereditary. As an adult I am realizing only now how much Ritalin can help. I wonder how much I would have achieved in life if, like my son, I had been diagnosed at an early age and been treated by both Ritalin and behavior modification. Larry's Home Page
This is not the most comprehensive site, but it is easy to read and level-headed. (Maybe it's the Ritalin.)
The Challenge of Difficult Children is subtitled 'Elaine M. Gibson's Insights on Parenting...And Especially, Parenting Difficult Children --When "good enough" or "common sense" parenting isn't enough.' Elaine has a Masters degree in psychology and she has written parenting advice for years. She is the parent of an ADD child.
There are other consumer sites out there, but these are some of the best. You can also read an ADD FAQ (frequently asked questions list) compiled by Frank Kannemann. These sites were first reviewed in December 1997. The links were all working in January, 2002. ADD sites seem to change a lot, though...
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| Leonard Holmes, Ph.D. http://mentalhealth.about.com |