Firstly, the Da Vinci Method theory says ADD/ADHD is not a disorder at all but is simply a hereditary or genetic condition that is found in persons who bear a gene (possibly a number of genes) but in particular the gene DRD4 7R allele that is present in about 10% of the world’s population and up to 25% of Americans. The gene has a high prevalence in successful entrepreneurs and creative or highly successful people who have a capability to ‘think outside the box’. Persons with this genetic and personality trait possess a different manner of brain operation. According to DaVinci personality trait theory, the ADD/ADHD gene affects the brain’s relationship with dopamine; this difference causes the ADDer to crave stimulation and to seek thrills, take risks, discover new ways to do things, be bolder, and have more charisma. It is this temperament accompanying this genetic difference that happens to be the same temperament that makes rock stars, inventors, artists and athletes, entrepreneurs, leaders and billionaires successful.
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Why the DaVinci behind the DaVinci Method name?
LoPorto explained, “Leonardo Da Vinci most certainly demonstrated many of the ADHD spectrum of behaviours, and it is from this most famous of individuals that this therapy approach takes its name. In 67 years, Da Vinci was only able to complete 17 of his paintings; he stated that this was because his interests were so varied and diverse. Einstein did not excel at school, and his achievements there were entirely unremarkable, and yet, both of these individuals became some of the greatest thinkers and achievers in the history of humanity.”
In one interview, LoPorto said,
“I based my theory of a Da Vinci Method on a German psychoanalyst named Otto Rank. He was a protégé of Sigmund Freud. Rank discovered that the best therapy for a creative was a brief encounter to force them into their own will and volition to do what they really wanted to do. Rank was an advocate for strength but as psychoanalysis got popular it became obvious that Rank’s approach only worked for the Da Vinci type. There are only 10 to 25 percent of these kinds of individuals in any given population.”
Da Vinci Method approach to education for ADDers is that parents and teachers channel children’s energies rather than normalise them
The Da Vinci method argues that rather than “normalise” the ADD child because of the burden it places on both parents and teachers in their efforts to make a child conform to the norms of society, their energies should instead be focused and channelled in accordance with the child’s DaVinci personality or nature to maximise that potential for brilliance. In particular, the method theorises that children with ADHD need a completely educational environment or teaching approach to ‘normal children. Children with ADHD/DaVinci personalities need a focus on experiential learning rather than using set text book methodologies to solve problems. ADHD children will then tap into their innate skills though often using unusual ways to solve problems, and reaching the ‘right’ answers.
The book ”The Da Vinci Method”
offers up a summary of a host of research and educational theories on holistic therapies that expert scientists, educators and psychologists have been proposing since the 1990s. It suggests that these therapeutic approaches are worth investigating by parents of an ADHD child (and indeed by an adult ADHD sufferer). As such, it provides a wholly novel way of thinking about and coping with the problems of attention deficit disorder.
The ADD/ADHD gene affects the brain’s relationship with dopamine. This difference causes one to crave stimulation just to feel alive. When you crave stimulation you are more likely to seek thrills, take risks, discover new ways to do things, be bolder, and have more charisma. The temperament that accompanies this genetic difference happens to be the same temperament that makes rock stars, inventors, artists and athletes, entrepreneurs, leaders and billionaires successful.”
At one interview, LoPorto advocated special schools and different educational environments for ADD/DaVinci type children to help them:
“Find the constructive outlet to get your fire going and come alive. Be self-directed but with boundaries. The more a Da Vinci child can choose their own direction and be master of their own fate the more you have an engaged child. The way one is taught has a huge impact. Science projects got me going. I pursued them relentlessly until an amazing creation happened. A lot of others would appreciate this way. Teachers are teaching to the test. School systems originated in Germany. So we have an educational institution designed to break the will by a military-industrial complex.”
That line will surely strike a consonant chord with homeschoolers.
While LoPorto’s best-selling book “DaVinci Method” is “hot” with the ADD community and parents who feel his method is a lifeline thrown to them since the ADD children can have a disruptive effect on families, there are strangely no articles written by more weighty academic peers and experts reviewing the DaVinci method, whether for or against on the same topic, … which may suggest that LoPorto as an author lacks scientific or academic credibility.
Unendorsed by scientists as the DaVinci Method may be, there are other writings that are not at odds with the method’s ideas about ADD and creativity. [similar therapies discussed]
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"The DaVinci Method is over 200 pages of the most useful therapy ever designed for helping creative types like you be more productive. We don’t teach you to sit still and focus on details, we teach you how to embrace your ability to see the BIG PICTURE, set trends and lead the pack. You are gifted to have the ADD/ADHD gene."
This highly promotional advertising note on LoPorto’s website strikes some people as overly gimmicky. The proponent of the DaVinci method, Garret LoPorto is still more famous as a successful entrepreneur, CEO, presenter at MIT, U.S. & International patent-pending inventor who has been featured in The New York Times, Money Magazine, The Boston Globe and The London Financial Times, than psycho-therapy expert on ADD.
But gimmicky or not, perhaps part of the appeal of his theory and his book, is that
he speaks with experience as an ADDer himself (it must help that he’s a highly successful entrepreneur and millionaire), and perhaps because
he genuinely seems to care. LoPorto revealed his reasons during an interview for coming up with the DaVinci Method:
“When developing the concept I was looking for a new label. One that would hopefully begin to catch on in the school systems, where young children are developing their own self identities and concepts. We need a label that teachers, instructors, guardians, and parents could give to children to empower instead of disable them. The disorder label of ADHD is based on temperament and a self-identification process which one believes and then goes on to manifest symptoms based on those beliefs. Another way to look at it is to notice how before we got the label ADHD there was the term troubled child. Kids were burdened with this concept of being trouble. Look at Richard Branson. He typifies the Da Vinci type. They either end up billionaires or in prison. Thomas Edison was unteachable but look how brilliant he was. So the empowering label is Da Vinci. This describes high energy and very creative children who bounce around when inspired. If they find something that keeps their focus it can evoke them to be what they really can be. Da Vinci and Edison are great examples of that. Da Vinci was so archetypical in artistic and scientific endeavors.”
And
although self-billed as an expert on ADD (NOT autism though) at his promotional website, he issues an inspirational “call to be true to one’s own “ADD” nature“. Whatever LoPorto’s concept lacks in credibility, it more than makes up for in accessibility and popularity. Many will probably heed his call.
Re: Could this be you? Garret LoPorto and the Wayseer Manifesto
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