Re[2]: [at-l] Hiking with ADD (hyperactivity)

[Bob C." <ellen@clinic.net (Bob C.)]

My "warm up" hike for the AT was in 1991, when I hiked 270-miles of Maine with a
nine-year-old  grandson  who  for  all practical purposes could neither read nor
write.

Each  doctor  and  each  mental  health  specialist  seemed  to have a different
diagnosis, including ADD or hyperactivity. He was obviously bright. He impressed
other  hikers  by  carrying  on  adult  conversations  with them. He insisted on
talking  with  and asking questions of every one on the trail. Even Ward Leonard
was impressed.

He  didn't  like  the  monotony  of the trail. But he brightened whenever he met
another  person. All in all it was a wonderful experience -- for both of us. Two
years later he did 700 miles of the AT with me.

He  quit school midway through his sophomore year in high school -- and promptly
passed  his  high  school  equivalency  exams.  Last winter he spent four months
touring Mexico and Central America with his girl friend -- after getting a leave
of  absence  from his job as an apprentice in a shop that makes art objects from
blown glass.

He  was  on  ritalin  for a year or so, but refused the medication after awhile.
Personally,  I'm  skeptical  of  such  drugs  and  of the diagnoses that lead to
prescribing such drugs.

My  grandson  obviously  marches  to a different drummer than most. But, I'm not
sure  I  would  call  it a disorder. In many ways he is a truly superior person,
bright,  personable,  curious,  committed.  Oh,  yes,  a bit spoiled also by his
single mom. But he is outgrowing that, just as he outgrew his inability to read.

Weary