The Hammer and the Screw

Copyright ©1993 by Dave deBronkart

Everyone's heard "When the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to treat everything as if it were a nail." Today I viewed that metaphor from the perspective of the poor screw, who's spent his life getting pounded on the head. All around him, he sees nine out of ten people have no trouble living that life. They don't hesitate to remind him of how easy life would be if he'd just straighten out and act like them.

So he tries. He submits himself to the same pounding that works for them, but he just doesn't progress the way they do. It's hard, he always seems to break something as he goes by, and it gives him SUCH a headache.

Then, one day to his surprise, something different happens. Instead of a clang on the head, there's a new sensation as something "just right" settles into his slot. Suddenly he's spinning, in a totally new way, and guess what? He's progressing like the others, it feels perfectly natural, and it doesn't hurt a bit.

This is my vision for the world we're creating for our ADD selves and kids (and their kids too). It's a world where appropriate tools and experiences are available to everyone, and nobody could care less which method you like. The style of learning and living that fits you best is no more significant than picking clothes that fit you right.

As time went by, people discovered there were situations where the young screw's kind of fastening, which they first thought was just "different," worked much better than the "normal" nails. (He came to refer to the "normals" as "hammerheads.")

This was originally published in the Spring 1993, Olympia Chapter, Learning Disabilities Association of Washington (State) Attention Deficit Newsletter.

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Last Modified: Thursday, October 02, 1997 9:34:45 PM