Why? Because it’s yet another MALE celebrity coming forward with a story about being successful with ADHD.

I can give you scores more names of genius entrepreneurs with ADHD and/or DaVinci Syndrome. Billionaires, some of them.

Marc Cuban.
Jeff what’s his name, the handsome blue-eyed guy who founded Jet Blue.
Richard Branson.
The man who WROTE the DaVinci syndrome book (I’ve forgotten his name, but I do remember that he’s spoken at MIT, because I’ve worked with someone at the media lab, but I’m not on the genius list. I’m a girl.)

Why?
Not just because they’re male, but because they have principally female structural support systems in place to assist them, AND they’re not burdened with structural responsibilities culturally assigned to women for which women with ADHD are judged disproportionately harshly.

And don’t tell me about Ms. Solden. I’ve been reading her books for years. She’s named the problem, but no one — not even saintly, angelic her — has yet to come up with a concrete, consistent solution. Because even though, according to her, we’re supposed to just “accept being messy” — the world (our families, our bosses) is NEVER going to accept it. We will be divorced. We will be called bad mothers by our neighbors and our own children. We will be fired.

And every time we are fired makes it harder to get hired the next time.

And if you try to come up with your own solution — even if you pitch it to “your” ADHD community, which is supposed to be so open to innovation?

It’s too “new”. Too “risky”. “No one has tried it yet.”

I can’t IMAGINE someone saying that to Marc Cuban with a straight face.

And I’m not just talking about mothers/homemakers, although those are the traditional structural support systems that women are supposed to maintain in American culture.

In business, it’s exactly the same. Women are supposed to be the administrators. Still.

Even in show business. Women are the producers. MEN are the directors.

If you’re a woman with ADHD and/or traditionally “male” talents?

Sorry. No structural support for you.

Not even from your “own” ADHD community.

Because if you were going to try to hire someone to assist you with the support — and bear all the censure and scrutiny and ridicule that came with “failing in your role” — since you have traditionally “male” talents, and so therefore there’s no way that you’re going to be paid what men are paid ( if you have the incredible luck to be hired at all) because, lest we forget, the ERA was never passed —

how are you going to afford it??

And, to Misha: Having ADD or ADHD is no “actually a good thing.” The degree to which people have been persuaded to believe that is disheartening.

Perhaps Mr. Kaman can serve as a role model, but not in the way that Dr. Handelman envisions.