Just about everyone in Illinois politics long ago diagnosed Blagojevich as a complete sociopath, but what’s interesting in both news stories and talking with many people who dealt with him regularly, there’s more to his problems:
It was a historic day on Dec. 9, 2008; Illinois’ sitting governor had just been arrested and FBI supervisor Pete Cullen found himself keeping watch over Rod Blagojevich.
“He was in his running suit. He was stretching, running in place, animated. I couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t sit still,” Cullen said. “He kept combing back his hair.
In saying this, I’m not trying to be cute, but I seriously think somewhere in the bizarre mind of Rod Blagojevich, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is almost certainly responsible for some of his behavior
Inattention may not become apparent until a child enters the challenging environment of school. In adults, symptoms of inattention may manifest in work or in social situations.
A person with ADHD may have some or all of the following symptoms:
- difficulty paying attention to details and tendency to make careless mistakes in school or other activities; producing work that is often messy and careless
- easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and frequently interrupting ongoing tasks to attend to trivial noises or events that are usually ignored by others
- inability to sustain attention on tasks or activities
- difficulty finishing schoolwork or paperwork or performing tasks that require concentration
- frequent shifts from one uncompleted activity to another
- procrastination
- disorganized work habits
- forgetfulness in daily activities (for example, missing appointments, forgetting to bring lunch)
- failure to complete tasks such as homework or chores
- frequent shifts in conversation, not listening to others, not keeping one’s mind on conversations, and not following details or rules of activities in social situations
Hyperactivity symptoms may be apparent in very young preschoolers and are nearly always present before the age of seven. Symptoms include:
- fidgeting, squirming when seated
- getting up frequently to walk or run around
- running or climbing excessively when it’s inappropriate (in teens this may appear as restlessness)
- having difficulty playing quietly or engaging in quiet leisure activities
- being always on the go
- often talking excessively
Hyperactivity may vary with age and developmental stage.
Toddlers and preschoolers with ADHD tend to be constantly in motion, jumping on furniture, and having difficulty participating in sedentary group activities. For instance, they may have trouble listening to a story.
School-age children display similar behavior but with less frequency. They are unable to remain seated, squirm a lot, fidget, or talk excessively.
In adolescents and adults, hyperactivity may manifest itself as feelings of restlessness and difficulty engaging in quiet sedentary activities.
Impulsivity symptoms include:
- impatience
- difficulty delaying responses
- blurting out answers before questions have been completed
- difficulty awaiting one’s turn
- frequently interrupting or intruding on others to the point of causing problems in social or work settings
- initiating conversations at inappropriate times
For a long time people thought individuals with ADHD grew out of it, but in recent years, understanding adults have ADHD symptons as well and need to be treated is far better understood.
On a less serious note, those are some crappy symptoms to have when you are sitting in a jail cell for years.