"In middle school, he'd simply zone out on the couch, seemingly ignoring his father's demands to take out the garbage. In junior college, his athletic director thought he was on speed. Once, in the minor leagues, he was approached about entering a drug treatment evaluation program.

Such has been life for Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler, who is one of the approximately 9 million American adults who deal with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). And he's not the only Ranger dealing with some form of the disorder. It's one of the reasons this is Attention Deficit Disorder Awareness Week.

They are often labeled willful or rambunctious, hyperactive or impulsive and easily distracted.

Kinsler, 28, has dealt with the disorder and all of those labels for nearly half his life. He can cite examples of just about every classic symptom. Only thing, though: He won't blame any mistakes on the field on the condition.

"To put any mistakes on ADD is ridiculous in my mind," Kinsler said recently. "Yes, I wear my emotions on my sleeve a little bit during games, but everybody makes mistakes. What's the excuse when someone else who isn't on Adderall makes a mistake? To me, it's just kind of weird to use that as an excuse."

It would be easy to make that assumption, though. Three things have marked Kinsler's five-season major league career: Amazing ability, a knack for getting hurt and the occasional seemingly careless mistake. It may be dropping the glove down below his eyes on a routine catch, which heightens the possibility of a drop. It may be a missed sign. Or he may seemingly fall into a trance on the base paths and run into outs. "