Creative ADDers
Poems abound in this section. All items here are by
people who have ADD/ADHD or are about ADDers and have been produced by family members (if
the author is under 18 then their age will be shown). I welcome any additions to this
page. See the bottom of the page for getting in touch with me.
Click on the following
headings or scroll down the page:
The Art of Robert Toth
A Child's Version of ADHD By Sharon Kilday
MIND AT WORK By Natalie Catania Nelson
The ADHD Child’s Bill Of Rights Author Unknown (if anyone knows the
Author please let us know)
Flight Of Ideas By Kim Hlavka
The Fog By Kim Hlavka
Concentration By Anne-Marie Hynes
I Really Love This Child By Caroline Hensby
Hyper By Jeunesse Voges
Castles By Alexander Johnstone (aged 8)
Life By Chris Brummitt (aged 16)
Happiness Reborn By Chris Brummitt (aged 16)
Jungles By Alexander Johnstone (aged 8)
The magic box By Alexander Johnstone (aged 8)
My Life By Leanne Howard (Aged 16)
My ADHD By Jodie Farmer (Age 8)
My Son By Rachelle
Adorable and Loveable By Louise Gritt
The
Art of Robert Toth
  
As you can see by the small thumbnail examples above, this guy is
extremely talented. Robert Toth is a well respected, Internationally recognized
Artist who
suffers from ADD. He specializes in Paintings, Sculpture and Transportation Art. His story
is a great inspiration to other ADD/ADHD sufferers, showing just what can be achieved.
Check out his excellent website at http://www.roberttoth.com/
for more examples of his work and more of his story.
All images © Robert Toth. Used by permission.
A
Child's Version of ADHD
What is ADHD?
Do we know?
Do we understand?
We do!
Who are you?
We here you ask,
We are the children given this task!
Task!
We here you cry
Yes task we reply,
A task that eventually no one will deny.
We are the children, who can explain,
We are the little people who have to explain again & again in vain.
Explain what? we hear you say,
Our disorder
Or so you say!.
First of all you must understand this wasn't our fault it wasn't planned.
We were born this way, so you see and "no" mum didn't drop me from her knee.
This was natures way it was meant to be, and Mother Nature chose little old me.
Cruel! We hear you say,
Well Mother nature has her way.
There are things that we don't understand, like what Mother nature has planned.
When you first here ADD you wonder just what it might be,
Is it catching we here you ask "no" you silly ass.
As you go through life you begin to understand that we are not the silly ones, as
originally planned.
We are the children on everyone's mind,
We are the children who sit back and see
All the adults argue over me.
"Argue" we hear you shout
"yes we reply"
Argue with something that you cant see,
Argue with the unknown
"that's me".
Its you the adults the ones that are here, who live with this disorder
Us we have no fear.
We are the ones who have lots of joy,
Playing on our playstations "boy oh boy"
Whilst we are doing this you see all the adults are fighting over "me".
"Fighting" you ask
what do you mean?
Why cant we work together as a team?.
I come home from school, and go on my machine mum is on the phone to Dr Doreen,
"he needs a psychiatrist" I hear her shout,
"he needs help & there's no doubt"
who needs help? I reply
me
why?
I come downstairs and have my tea,
Away I go again and play happily, mum is on the phone again, this time to Dr Bell,
"I do not understand this ADD" I hear her yell,
"is there nothing that we can do"
no my dear I'm afraid it is left up to you!,
the research team are trying with all their might, to tackle the unknown its fight, fight,
fight.
I come downstairs to get a little drink, I have a little chuckle and a little think.
Forgive me if this is way off line, but would it not be easier to take the time, for all
those adults to speak to me
After all
It is me who lives with ADD.
They are the ones who argue all day!
They are the ones who wonder every day!
They are the ones who spend thousands of pounds!
They are the ones who walk the grounds!.
We are the ones who play all day!
We are the ones who get by every day!
We are the ones who live with ADD!
"please don't avoid me"
"just ask me"
By Sharon Kilday
MIND
AT WORK
BEYOND THE HOLLOWS OF
TEABAGS AND TOENAILS
SAFETY PINS AND STAPLERS
A HILL OF KIWI FRUIT
STOOD IN THE DISTANCE
HIGH ABOVE THE KNIGHTS
OF ARMORED SPLENDOR
WHILE WINGED CHARIOTS
RACE THROUGH THE RAINFOREST
OF UNKNOWN MYSTERY OF
CURES AND LEAVES
AND THE MAN WITH A
TERIYAKI FLAVORED BONE
THROUGH HIS NOSTRIL
TO THE RIGHT
READS SHAKESPEARE ABOARD
A STICK OF SONGBIRDS SINGING
ABOUT THE QUEEN'S TATTOO
AND HER DAUGHTER…
THE TATTOO LADY
OF EXQUISITE CUISINE AND
WHO EATS SQUID AND COCOA PUFFS
WHILE CHEWING TOBACCO
THAT SMELLS LIKE FINE MINT
YET TASTES LIKE FINE DUMPLINGS
WHICH SPITS JUICE AND
MAKES YOU SPIN…
GO FIGURE A FIGURE
OF PNEUMONIC PROPORTIONS
THAT CONFUSES AND DISEASES
THE MIND TO MAKE FAKE
PROMISES AND BLOWS THE EGO
TO THE COVES OF DESPAIR…
FOR GESTALT IS MERELY A
SEVEN LETTER WORD HELD TOGETHER
WITH SPIT AND FIRE TO MAKE WHOLE
WHILE NO WHOLE IS A HALF
NOR A HALF A WHOLE
FOR EVERY PART IS ITS
OWN WHOLE NO MATTER ITS SIZE
OR PROPORTIONS AS…
THE GUN RISES AND HIS BLUE EYES
CRY IN WORTHLESSNESS KNOWLEDGE
ONLY TO MAKE COFFEE AND READ STORIES
OF ENDLESS SENTENCES
OF AIRBORNE PROPHECIES
TO ENUNCIATE OF SYLLABLES
OF LIFE'S LITTLE HARDSHIPS
OF MONEY AND LOVE
DIVORCE AND MARRIAGE
MONEY AND DIVORCE
AND THE LITTLE MAN
IN THE CELLAR ASKS FOR MORE WINE
AS HE PLAYS DOMINOS WITH
THE PINK-EYED PORPOISE
OF REGRET AND PLEASURE
TO ENTERTAIN ONLY WHEN
THE TIME IS RIGHT
AND WE CAN ALL PLAY
JUMPROPE WHILE WE
HAVE A TEMPORARY LULL
IN THE COMA OF MIND'S EYE
AS WE GET TO KNOW OURSELVES
AND OUR SELF-
WHILE WE LOOK TO THE STARS
AND ARE CENTERED FOR LIFE!
By Natalie Catania Nelson
The
ADHD Child’s Bill Of Rights
“Help me to focus”
“Please teach me through my sense of “touch”.
I need “hands on” and “body movement”.
“I need to know what comes next”
Please give me a structured environment where there is a dependable routine.
Give me an advanced warning if there will be changes.
“Wait for me, I’m still thinking”
Please allow me to go at my own pace.
If I rush, I get confused and upset.
“I’m stuck ! I cant do it !”
Please offer me options for problem-solving.
I need to know the detours when the road is blocked.
“Is it right? I need to know NOW!”
Please give me rich and immediate feedback on how I’m doing.
“I didn’t forget, I didn’t ‘hear’ it in the first place!”
Please give me directions one step at a time and ask me to
say back what I think you said.
“I didn’t know I Wasn’t in my seat!”
“Please remind me to STOP, THINK and ACT.”
Am I almost done now?
Please give me short work periods with short-term goals.
“What?”
Please don’t say “I’ve already told you that”.
Tell me again in different words.
Give me a signal. Draw me a symbol.
“I know, it’s ALL wrong, isn’t it?”
Please give me praise for partial success.
Reward me for self-improvement, not just for perfection.
“But why do I always get yelled at?”
Please catch me doing something right and praise me for my specific positive behaviour.
Remind me (and yourself) about my good points, when I’m having a bad day.
“I may be hard to live with, and have ADHD, but I still have
feelings and would have never chosen to behave like I do
sometimes”.
Author Unknown (if anyone knows the Author please let us know)
FLIGHT
OF IDEAS
Ideas,
Thoughts,
They pop into my head -
All at once,
One after the other.
I chase them -
Frantically hoping
That I might catch one or two.
They are brilliant-
elusive
exciting
beautiful
They tease me -
Dancing just beyond my reach
Promising greatness
If only I can grasp but one
And hold it…
By Kim Hlavka
THE
FOG
It descends on me like darkness
Creeping in stealthily
To consume, invade
My body and mind
I cannot stop it
It comes…
My chest feels heavy,
Tight
I want to move,
Have to move -
But where to go?
What to do?
I feel like jumping out of my skin…
My thoughts are tangled,
Confused
I cannot separate them,
I cannot think.
The world attacks me,
Bombards me
I feel everything,
See everything,
Hear everything…
There is too much
It hurts
I want it to stop.
I cannot be in the world,
With others
It is too hard
I overload,
Shut down,
Become immobile…
I pull inside myself
And wait for it to end.
By Kim Hlavka
CONCENTRATION
"Daddy"
Says the little girl
"What does the word "concentrate" mean?"
"It means to think about what you're doing"
Was the reply
He was driving the car
I imagined him sitting at the wheel thinking to himself
"I'm driving a car...I'm driving a car...I'm driving a car"
I didn't understand then
And I don't understand now
What it is to concentrate
I wonder what's on satellite tonight....
By Anne-Marie Hynes
I
Really Love This Child
I really love this child
Despite his ADD
Pardon, what did you say?
What's ADD,
Attention Deficit Disorder,
Hyperactivity too,
What do you mean
That's nothing to you?
You see him kick and
Hear him scream
Run off and swear
You look in amazement
What do I care?
Yes it hurts when you say
That he is just naughty
Control him and tell him off
What you may not see
Is the side which is loving
Cuddly and scared
He needs extra Loving and care
You still look puzzled
I'll explain a bit more
It's neurological
A chemical imbalance
Don't stand there amazed
I know he looks normal
And so he is too
He just needs to be loved and accepted
Like a lot of us do
Whatever he does
There's no malicious intent
We all have our faults
Not one of us is perfect
So try to accept
And find his true worth.
By Caroline Hensby
Hyper..
Whirling through the room
running around
feeling like a tornado
like a bursting cloud
Luckily this is temporary
this nonstopping running train
It's running after me
making me feel insane
But suddenly it stops
and depression takes it's place
Am I losing it ?
Is this the life I have to face?
But let me make one thing clear
after hyperness and depression the sun will shine
making me warm,happy and feeling well... just fine
So I move on
with my everchanging moods
hoping tomorrow I'll cope
with my autistic roots
By Jeunesse Voges from Holland
Castles
By
Alexander Johnstone (aged 8)
2nd November 1998
Castles are dark and gloomy,
Suits of armour left to perish,
Towers cobwebby and lonely,
Castles are lifeless
Kitchens crumbles, spits snapped,
Chains rusty as I have said,
Fires happily crackled to the smell,
Of beans and toast served for the King.
Life
Depressed, lost and messed in the head,
Every morning I've come to dread,
Waking up in pain,
Pain of the brain,
Never knowing when I'm going to be sane,
Watching my life slowly p*****g down the drain,
The good moments outnumbered by bad,
Outside I'm cool, but inside I'm sad,
The problems and worries can't drag me down,
I'm wishing this is true, but I'm starting to drown,
The sea of insanity taking me away,
I don't want to go, I just want to stay,
Trying to keep the same,
But I'm out of the game,
Knowing where I'm going I'm out in the rain,
Pushing my hassles to the back of my mind,
But they keep popping up, time after time,
Knowing what to do,
But haven't got the power,
Regretting all my life hour after hour,
I'm not like the rest,
I could be the best,
To the life of enjoyment I'm only a guest.
Down memory lane,
Trying to push it on others, giving them the blame,
It's all my fault and I'm trying to put it right,
Going against the system, putting up a fight,
I could never win,
Living in sin,
I just can't deal with it,
Keep turning it in,
The old times were great,
Where laughs came cheap,
But the hills back to those days are steeper than steep.
Looking to the future,
Hoping it will change,
But I've got to put the effort in,
My dreams are in range,
Help myself out,
Instead of sitting there oblivious,
Trying to laugh the problems out,
Determined to win,
Good overriding sin,
Putting bad times in the bin,
It'll all get better, I know it in my heart,
The only thing I could determine,
Is when it's going to start,
Please lend a hand,
I can't do it alone,
Still got a foot in the 'Bad Boy Zone',
Help me pull it out,
It'll be like a dream,
Life will be a bath full of strawberries and cream!
Chris Brummitt (aged 16 - You can email him at Scribe@stories.co.uk or visit his website http://www.stories.co.uk/)
Happiness Reborn
When I look back,
To how my life was,
It seems like a story,
A life-line from Oz,
I felt so depressed,
Right down in the dumps,
Now, when I push it behind my heart jumps,
I hated the world,
And thought the world hated me,
I know now it was just putting up with my bad ways,
I was so blind with hatred, I just couldn’t see,
Now seeing myself change makes me so high,
Pleasing the people who care about me,
Puts me straight in the sky.
For the first time I can recall,
I’m smiling all day,
No worries, no problems to stand in my way,
Never thinking I’ve got no hope,
I’ve finished taking it all as a joke,
I know what I’ve got,
And how much I care,
No more frustration,
No more pulling out my hair,
I wonder now, how I could have been so blind,
It doesn’t matter now,
Future in front of me,
Bad times behind.
I just want to thank you,
For helping me through,
I couldn’t have done it,
Without all the help from you,
I’m sorry for the past,
And I hope the good feelings will last,
Terrified of slipping back through time,
When my deepest thoughts were dark,
My mind was full of slime,
The future’s becoming brighter,
Every day that I live,
It’s all because of you,
I wish I could give,
Something back to you,
To show how I’m grateful,
I’m no longer down, no longer hateful.
I know the road of life,
May sometimes be rough,
We’ll tackle it together,
We’re used to being tough,
I may still at times,
Make you frown at me,
I hope I’ll live up to what you want me to be,
If not, remember I’m trying,
I feel the bad side of me is still dying,
But my mind will never be formatted,
The dark side ill always be there,
But even if I say I don’t,
I will always care,
Nobody’s perfect,
Least of all me,
I don’t want to be blind again,
I always want to see,
Another thing is I love you,
No matter how it seems,
But I suppose being an a******e,
Is past down through the genes!!!!!!
I mean what I say,
This wasn’t just ‘something to write’,
I hope you understand it all,
Because it’s taken me all night!
Chris Brummitt (aged 16 - You can email him at Scribe@stories.co.uk or visit his web site http://www.stories.co.uk/)
Jungles
By
Alexander Johnstone (aged - 8)
Tigers burn with orange fire and rage,
Hares in the jungle,
Well they zoom along,
Animals in the jungle,
Magnificent monkeys swing from branch to tree,
Parrots in the jungle,
Squawk a merry tune,
As for snakes in the jungle,
They hiss away.
The
magic box
By
Alexander Johnstone (aged - 8)
I will put in my box,
The deepest waters of the Antarctic Ocean,
A courageous lifesaver in treacherous waters,
A first smile of a baby.
I will put in my box,
The silent minutes of a remembrance parade,
My bristling bad tempered old cat,
My cute hamster,
A sunny day in Paris.
My
Life
By Leanne Howard (aged 16)
As I walk along head spinning, knee sore
Walk past secretary, you look fine she says to me
And watch you don't walk into a wall
"They've got to last" I hear her say
I felt like saying It's not Physically I have the pain
Emotionally and Mentally I feel the strain
Why does life have to be like this
The same pain over and over again
I want to yell, I want to scream
Why's it me again
The years of hurt
All fill me with pain and anger
Is it my fault I have ADD?
Or is it my fault, that life's a continual cycle of self harming, no confidence and no
self belief
What have I done to have this life?
I feel so small
And they're so tall
The names, the hits and the kicks
Is it any wonder I'm truly thick
Tidy your room
Do your work
Concentrate
Thicko, Skitso, Siiko
It's all the same
They say sticks and stones might break your bones
But names certainly hurt deep down inside your heart
I sometimes cry myself to sleep,
What will happen tomorrow?
Maybe someone will speak to them
Give them 10 minutes and they're at it again
Stand up for your rights
Tell someone
Keep telling until someone listens
They will try to listen but won't take it in
Too busy to deal with you or me
Come to school and get shouted at
Go home and get shouted at
Go out on a night, will my legs be broken?
Will my heart be beating?
Will I be in a ditch half covered in mud and G-d knows what
Why don't they listen?
Why can't they help?
Why can't I cope?
Why am I like this?
My eyes swell up I want to cry
Cry baby I hear them cry
Head thumping
Life floating by
The years of anger and frustration that is why
I doubt they've been through all this
Or if they have not like this
The kicking you down when you feel great
The words they say, and me they hate
Why me, Please help
Who can I tell?
Mum and dad they don't seem to care
Dad reckons I deserve everything I get
Did I ask for any of this - No I think not
The looks they give me
Make me INSAIN
I want it all to stop
Can it stop? Will it stop?
How can I cope?
What should I do?
Can't just ignore it
I'll have to make do
People ask what do I want for Christmas,
What I want is something money can't by
I want to have fun
I want no hassle
I want a life free from agro for a week or two
I want to yell
I want to cry
I want someone who'll listen
G-d knows why
They try to listen
They try to help
They only do this to laugh at me
Why's all this happening to me
Not you or you or the man next door
I don't know how much more of this I can take before I die
Is there any point?
Is there any good in this uncertain world?
I want to work with children
I want to try
I want a childhood free from this crime
I want to do well in school
Most of all I want a good life
Schools the best time of your life I hear them say
Over and over again I want to cry
Why can't they be me?
And try to try
Tell us what's wrong my parents say
Why oh why should I tell them
What have they done for me?
If they care they should see my grief and hurt
Over and over in my head I feel it go
Day by day my life will go
How long left I want to know
Skitso, psychotic mad
They point and laugh
Why am I trapped in this land?
How I wish for fun
Just once in my world
Why does it have to be me?
Life aint fair- or not to me
I go to a lesson
Last 10 minutes
Walk out
Get dragged back
Why do I have to live in this awful world?
I get called into the deputy heads office
She begins to yell
Yell, Yell, yell
Does anyone care about me?
Go back to the lesson
The sniggering starts
Just what's the point, I want to know
They say they're here to help
And pigs might fly
Schools are meant to be safe
Then why do I feel trapped with no where to go?
CAN'T ANYONE SEE I'M DEPRESSED AND NEED SOME MORE HELP,
I GO FOR THE HELP THEY APPEAR NOT TO CARE JUST WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS LIFE OF MINE?
My
ADHD
I love my family very much
I try not to let them down
But everyone makes mistakes sometimes
When they try not to
I make mistakes lots of times
But as you all know I have problems
It is very hard and I mean very hard
So all them children who have my problem
They probably know how I feel
Jodie Farmer (Age 8)
My
Son
I feel his pain, frustration and anger.
They see misbehavior and attitude.
We give him drugs and stronger drugs and counseling.
I give him sympathy and get defensive.
They get tough and take things away.
How many more times will this lead to a school suspension.
Please don't tell me he's out of control, it's all attitude.
I love my son
And he is a good person.
Am I a fool or are they.
Maybe this is a normal life of an ADD person.
It doesn't matter I Love Him anyway.
Rachelle - a mom of an ADD boy
PS: I'm not just making excuses for him.
Adorable
and Loveable
Adorable and loveable
Devilment and destruction
Delightful and entertaining
Aggressive and persistent
Dynamic and busy
Highly strung and sensitive
Distracted and clumsy
By Louise Gritt
If you have any poems, short stories etc., (if you'd like to include
a picture of yourself too, then let me know and we'll see how you can send it) which you
think would be appropriate on this page, then email Simon at the address below or write,
telephone, carrier pigeon to adders.org, 45 Vincent Close, Broadstairs, Kent, England,
CT10 2ND. Telephone (0)1843 851145.
Email - simon@adders.org |
