The Edison Gene: ADHD and the Gift of the Hunter Child [Hardcover]

Thom Hartmann (Author), Lucy Jo Palladino (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 11, 2003

New scientific research shows how the ADHD gene has been critical to humanity’s development for 40,000 years

• Shows how artists, inventors, and innovators carry the gene necessary for the future survival of humanity

• Explains why children with the Edison gene are so often mislabeled in our public schools as having ADHD

• By the creator of the “hunter/farmer hypothesis” of ADHD

Thomas Edison was thrown out of school for behavior that today would label him as having ADHD, but his mother understood how to salvage his self-esteem and prepare him for a lifetime of success. The quick-thinking and impulsive characteristics of what we term ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) are not signs of a disorder at all, but rather are parts of a highly adaptive and useful skill set that served our hunting and gathering ancestors very well. In The Edison Gene Thom Hartmann shows that these characteristics have also been critical to the survival and development of our modern civilization and will be vital and necessary as humanity faces new challenges in the future.

Hartmann, creator of the “hunter/farmer hypothesis” of ADHD, examines the latest discoveries confirming the existence of an ADHD gene and the earth-wide catastrophe 40,000 years ago that may well have triggered its development. Citing examples of significant innovators of our modern era, he argues that the brains of the children who possess the Edison gene are wired to give them brilliant success as innovators, inventors, explorers, and entrepreneurs, but that those same qualities often cause them problems in the context of our public schools. Hartmann offers concrete strategies for helping Edison-gene children to reach their full potential and shows that rather than being “problems,” they are an important and vital gift to our society and world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his new work, the author, a former psychotherapist who has written previously on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perspective), recommends techniques for raising children diagnosed with this condition. Although many of the specific strategies will be very useful to parents raising ADHD children, too much of the text is devoted to complex genetic and evolutionary theory. According to Hartmann, ADHD is a trait (referred to here as the Edison gene, because the inventor Thomas Edison is believed to have had the trait) rather than a disorder, because it once provided useful skills for functioning in a hunter-gatherer society. The hunter abilities contrasted sharply with the farmer trait, which carried the skills required in farming societies. For example, hunter children have a short attention span, beneficial in a dangerous world where the environment had to be constantly monitored. The innovative but impatient hunter child is usually placed in special ed classes and is looked on as a disciplinary problem; but Hartman believes that ADHD children should be thought of separately. He provides specific guidelines for parents, partly based on the work of Alfred Adler, which encourage mutual respect between parent and child. Hartmann is not an advocate of drug therapy, and he argues for educational reform and alternative schools or home schooling as better learning situations for ADHD children. Hartmann believes that creative outside-the-box thinking, characteristic of those with ADHD, is a real asset to solving many of the world's serious problems.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Thom Hartmann demonstrates that ADHD can be associated with creativity, high achievement, and a most successful adaptive style." (Edward Hallowell, M.D., author of Driven to Distraction)

"Thom Hartmann helps take us to the edge of knowing ourselves, our brains, and our world." (John J. Ratey, M.D., author of A User's Guide to the Brain)

"Once again, with tireless scholarship and a bit of poetry, Thom Hartmann helps take us to the edge of knowing ourselves, our brains, and our world." (John J. Ratey, M.D., author of A User's Guide to the Brain)

"Hartmann gives us a deeper explanation of ADHD, explaining its origins and characteristics and offering strategies to help." (Jenny Richter, Magical Blends, October 2004)

"For those who believe that ADHD can be treated without medication, this book could be akin to another New Testament . . ." (Manuel Mota-Castillo, M.D., Psychiatric Services, April 2005)

“Thom Hartmann surveys new genetic evidence that kids with ADHD have gifts and unique abilities.” (The Midwest Book Review, August 2005)

"Shows that, rather than being problems, such children are an important and vital gift to our society and the world."

"Hartmann shows the positive sides of ADHD and how as a society we have turned these same traits into negatives."

"Hartmann gives us a deeper explanation of ADHD, explaining its origins and characteristics and offering strategies to help."

"For those who believe that ADHD can be treated without medication, this book could be akin to another New Testament . . ."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Park Street Press; First Edition edition (August 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892811285
• ISBN-13: 978-0892811281
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #774,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thom Hartmann, who started in radio in 1968, is also an internationally known speaker on culture and communications, an author, and an innovator in the fields of psychiatry, ecology, and economics. The co-founder (with his wife, Louise) of The New England Salem Children's Village (1978) and The Hunter School (1997), he has led national innovations in the areas of residential treatment for abused children and private/public education for learning-disabled children. Hartmann is the four-time Project Censored Award-winning, New York Times best-selling author of 23 books currently in print in over a dozen languages on five continents. He is the former executive director of a residential treatment program for emotionally disturbed and abused children, and has helped set up hospitals, famine relief programs, schools, and refugee centers in India, Uganda, Australia, Colombia, Russia, and the United States through the German-based Salem International program. Formerly rostered with the State of Vermont as a psychotherapist, founder of The Michigan Healing Arts Center, and licensed as an NLP Trainer by Richard Bandler (who wrote the foreword to one of Thom's books), he was the originator of the revolutionary "Hunter/Farmer Hypothesis" to understand the psychiatric condition known as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). A guest faculty member at Goddard College in Vermont, he also synthesized the "Younger/Older Culture model" for describing the underpinnings - and possible solutions - to the world's ecological and socio-political crises, suggesting that many of our problems are grounded in cultural "stories" which go back thousands of years.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reframing ADD/ADHD as A GOOD THING February 25, 2004

By Robert Kall VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Edison was ADD. SO were many of the people who contributed to making the world the good place it is. This book portrays a very different picture of people with ADD, going so far as to suggest that the gene that is associated with ADD was also the gene that led to the creation of civilization. Tell that to a kid whose recently been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD who is feeling bad about having a defective brain, as some misled people conceive. This book gives a perspective on ADD/ADHD that will boost an ADDer's self esteem rather than harm it. It shoud be required reading for all teachers.

Thom Hartmann's books are extraordinarily inspiring and uplifting. If you haven't read Prophet's Way, Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, Unequal Protection, and World's Greatest Secret, all books not related to ADD, then you're missing something. Also check out his talk show at thomhartmanndotcom.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hunter Children Can Save the World October 7, 2003

By G. Hogard

Format:Hardcover

In this book, Thom logically progressed up what the former California Senator S.I. Hayakawa called the abstraction ladder. Thom moves from brain cells to parts, to the individual child and their genes. He then postulates that our modern schools are oppressive and are profoundly wounding our Edison Gene children by treating and labeling them as "disordered". Thom asks the reader to take a new look at raising Edison Gene (ADHD) children and how the very survival of the human race may ultimately depend on these hyper-creative and novelty seeking brains. For some, the building of the case may be tedious at first, (Publisher's Weekly), but I disagree. It is a necessary step to overcome the bias fostered by the media and the billions spent by vested interests in labeling these beautiful children "disordered. You may disagree with the conclusions, but there is enough proof provided here to convince even the most ardent skeptic of Thom's premise and serious proponent of the view that ADHD is a disorder that their view needs re-examination. The world will be losing something great if we don't learn to accept, love, and nurture our "Edison Gene" children and their gifts.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful Look At ADHD, Goes Beyond The Title November 13, 2004

By Jed Shlackman VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Thom Hartmann is one of our society's most articulate expositors of progressive and non-conformist social and spiritual ideas. It is no coincidence that he has written extensively on the topic of "ADHD," a label that by definition is given to people (especially children) who don't conform to the rules and demands of their environments.

This book starts with Hartmann's previously proposed idea that ADHD traits are consistent with a human genetic factor that was adaptive for "hunters" in the course of human evolution. He points out how many non-conformists in history became great inventors, leaders, and innovators, precisely because they were not forced to conform to prevailing dogmas and customs.

Rightly, Hartmann sees the current desire to force conformity as a dangerous threat to individuality and progress.

Hartmann recognizes that those labeled ADHD are often more sensitive and reactive than the norm, and need supportive conditions to help them flourish. The "negative" side of ADHD traits is most likely to appear when children are abused or over-stressed rather than nurtured. I would have liked to have seen this book go into more depth and provide more of the existing documentation about the various holistic approaches to helping those labeled ADHD thrive rather than be drugged and treated as disordered. The flaws and dangers of orthodox ways of responding to ADHD traits/behaviors could have also been explored further, although there are other books that cover that ground well and which lack the broad scope and perspective provided by Hartmann.

Overall, this book provides a lot of great insights. It recognizes those labeled ADHD as unique individuals with a variety of strengths and talents, and encourages society to examine itself and to learn from those seen as ADHD, rather than seeing ADHD behaviors as a disorder to suppress. The interaction of individual traits with various environmental conditions can yield behaviors and patterns that often get labeled ADHD. This gives the thoughtful person an opportunity to look for ways of helping the individual AND the society grow toward greater balance and maturity. There is much greater depth to consciousness, motivation, and creation than conventional paradigms consider, and authors like Thom Hartmann help us look beyond the surface to explore our greater potential and resist the urge to accept conformity and denial.