Research is the Soul of Writing

Because my stories are about social issues (oh, happy day) I am in constant research mode.  Sometimes, that research hits very close to home.  Working with middle school kids for the last three years, I had the privilege to study those children who have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, and some had even more challenging hurdles facing them.  For the most part they are brilliant in one area or another and I learned that if we, as an after school outlet, kept them involved in the area of their brilliance, they were not only happy and controlled, but they thrived.

Knee deep in the research that currently has my interest, all for the love of my fourth book, compels me to take on a different and perhaps, curious perspective.  Over the last twenty years or so, more and more children have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.  Some might say it’s because of the increased toxins humans are exposed to, or a more craven speculation is that schools are paid for every ADD/ADHD diagnosis.  Additionally, there are those young people over the age of seventeen, who have gone from an ADD/ADHD diagnosis to clinical depression or bipolar disorder.   It makes me wonder is it because we never took notice of this behavior in children before believing them to be simply overactive and moody blaming their behavior on environmental sources, or could it be something more complex, like human evolution?

In my research, every viewpoint and life experience is important and everything shared is considered valuable.  I would love to open this subject up to a reader’s forum.  It would be fantastic if some of you would share your thoughts about this subject in the comment area of this website.  Please understand that I realize this is an emotional topic for some, and let me assure you that it is for me as well, so if you opt to share your thoughts and feelings I thank you in advance for your input and will treat it with great respect.

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