Dina Needs to Take Her Creativity Meds

Dina, age 11, is not doing well in school. She has been getting C’s and D’s in her divergent thinking classes and, despite all of her hard work, received a disappointing C+ in science.  Her project on plant life showed, according to Mr. Riley, “little original thinking.” Mr. Riley said, “It’s meticulous, but hundreds of kids have done something similar.” Dina is losing her confidence and feels inferior to the majority of kids who are much more creative.

Dina attends the Simon Academy for Creativity which, like nearly every other school in the country, focuses on creativity and divergent thinking. Despite being superb at math, reading and memorizing factoids, Dina is forced to attend a traditional creativity school. The one alternative school in the district that focuses on competency in math, science, reading and writing is too far from Dina’s home and costs a hefty $18,000 per year.

Dina has always felt out of place at school. While the other kids are bouncing off the walls, Dina sits still at a desk (a special accomodation), waiting for instructions from the teacher. Going all the way back to first grade, Dina’s teachers expressed concern about her “lethargy.”

“All she seems to want to do is sit down and read, while many of the other kids are running around the class, learning by doing,” observed Mrs. Weller. “Dina also has a strong need to receive instruction and is not sufficiently self-directed.”

Now that Dina’s in middle school, the school suggests that Dina take a battery of psychological tests to determine if she has a learning disability.

After the testing, the school psychologist, Dr. Schmidt, called a meeting with Dina’s parents for 3 PM, showing up late as usual. “The good news is that Dina has a wonderful working memory, which is undoubtedly an asset. But the tests also indicate that Dina is a classic case of Creativity Deficit Disorder or CDD. Have you seen the new movie on Jackie Robinson?” Dr Schmidt interrupted himself. “Oh, yes, back to Dina. The excessive control functioning in her brain often makes Dina unavailable for learning and is holding her back academically.”

“Among the many questions Dina was asked on the test was how many uses she could think of a hard-boiled egg and a spoon. Dina could only think of 14, which was significantly below the average of 21, putting her at the 35th percentile in Creativity Quotient (CQ). These numbers suggest Dina is an at risk child,” he stated. “The test also revealed a glitch in her conceptual understanding of ideas. While Dina scored in the 96th percentile in short-term memory, she scored much lower in critical thinking. Because school is so much more focused on critical thinking than memorization, this is going to hurt Dina’s performance on tests.”

“What can we do about it?” Dina’s parents asked. “Well, fortunately, there’s a new medication out called Freeal, which relaxes the prefrontal brain systems, and allows for more creativity and less self-editing. While we can’t mandate that she take it, I can say from experience that it will make her a much better student. I think it’s important that Dina catch up with her peers, lest she develop an inferiority complex. Also, these learning difficulties, unaddressed, will, as she goes into the world of work, make it hard for Dina to start her own company and innovate.”

“Dina’s pediatrician prescribed similar meds once before and Dina does not like the way she feels on them,” her mother said. “It makes her feel out of control.”

Dr Schmidt assured her that Freeal has fewer side effects than previous medications. “Teachers are seeing immediate results. Normally quiet kids are now calling out. Several of the CDD kids are finally able to come up with original ideas and are doing much better in school.”  

Dina’s parents sat down together to discuss Dina’s predicament. “I can’t stand that the school is so one-size-fits-all,” her mom says in frustration. “This world still needs line managers, and I can’t imagine anyone better cut out for that work than Dina.” Her dad counters that “ultimately Dina has to adapt to the existing system. We all do. She needs to go to creativity college if she is going to start her own company someday. Let’s ask her to try the Freeal.” 

 

Comments

[Tom Nardone]

This is Absolutely Brilliant!!! I write about my own experiences with ADD, and I seldom read other articles because most of them suck. You sir as far as I am concerned have propelled yourself into "Rock Star Status"

[Andrew]

http://www.simplyadhd.co.uk/2009/06/i-posted-this-on-add-forum-where-i.html

[cheap nfl jerseys]

The creation of the new antitheft not just elegant but in addition effortless. She would not converse carats or fee tags even though displaying me a hoop identical towards the a single Ponder purchased that was created by Precision Established.
cheap nfl jerseys http://www.threetreechurch.org/cheap-nfl-jerseys.html

[babyliss pro perfect curl usa]

999 Or it could necessarily mean bankrupting the staff long term for your shot at the playoffs this calendar year.. Rapid Generate will take advantage of an SSD for faster boot pace.
babyliss pro perfect curl usa http://www.hugeaux.com/babylissproperfectcurl.htm

[シュプリーム ニューヨーク]

supreme gaga シュプリーム ニューヨーク http://www.bulkoospace.com/supraスープラ-レディースシューズ-t3m-1_2.html

[バーバリー コート]

激安バーバリー ベビー マント 値段,バーバリー マフラー サージグリーン,バーバリーロンドン カタログ,バーバリー ネクタイ 紺 無地,バーバリー ポーチ ハンカチ,バーバリー ベビー 80,バーバリー セールスフォース,バーバリーロンドン,バーバリー ハイソックス キッズ.