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On Monday, January 17th, Carolyn O’Neal answered a call from the producer of the Jane Pauley Show (NBC, Ch.5, 12:00 noon). The producer invited Carolyn and her husband Ron to fly to New York City to appear on a January 20th taping of the show. The O’Neals accepted the invitation to a show dealing with the lives of successful adults who have attention deficit disorder (ADD). ADD is a brain disorder characterized by inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity to a degree that causes impairment. Miss
Pauley’s objective for this particular show was to show adults with ADD
and parents of ADD children that having the disorder does not
automatically lead to failure.
On the soon-to-be aired show,
Jane interviewed three adults who are high achievers despite having
attention deficit disorder (ADD). One of those
adults was Carolyn, who despite her lifelong challenges with ADD, has
been successful – personally (wife, mother, community volunteer),
educationally, and professionally. On
the show she gave details of her struggles in adulthood, her
appropriate ADD diagnosis and treatment, and her remarkable results.
Appearing with Carolyn was her husband Ron, who, as the spouse of an ADD adult, shared his perspective with the audience. The
O’Neals feel their exciting experience was further enhanced by the
“celebrity” treatment they both received from the show’s producers and
other staff, especially Jane Pauley herself.
Other
guests on the show were Dr. Edward Hallowell, well-known psychiatrist,
authority on ADD, and Harvard Medical School senior lecturer, who
himself has ADD; a woman whose ADD diagnosis Dr. Hallowell revealed to
her on the show; and another successful adult with ADD, Dave Neeleman,
who is founder and CEO of Jet Blue Airlines.
Though
she was challenged with ADD, Carolyn graduated from college and
subsequently worked as a fifth grade teacher, a high school math
teacher, a high school dean, and an elementary school principal. During her career, she earned a doctorate degree from Loyola University Chicago. However,
she considers her (and Ron’s) greatest success to be their three
children: Traci, an attorney; Ron Jr., an attorney; and Amber (MBA), a
marketing manager.
Both Carolyn and Ron O’Neal are recently retired School District U-46 administrators. She retired as principal of Oakhill School and he as principal of Elgin High School. Currently,
Ron is working at Aurora University and with LinkQuests Educational
Consultants, Inc., which Carolyn and he have established since their
retirement.
The O’Neals offer a broad spectrum of consulting
services through LinkQuests, but they have unique skills and interests
in the area of academically at-risk adolescents. In addition, while Ron
specializes in issues related to administration, Carolyn’s individual
specialization is in educational issues related to ADD. Her
expertise in ADD results from her personal journey with the disorder,
her lifetime work in schools, and the extensive research she did while
writing her doctoral dissertation on ADD.
For more details about the O’Neals’ story, information about LinkQuests, or to learn more about ADD/ADHD, contact:
Carolyn O’Neal, Ed.D
Phone: (847) 888-1178
Fax: (847) 888-2263
e-mail: droneal@linkquests.com
www.linkquests.com
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