ADHD Awareness Month
Different isn’t better or worse, it’s just different!
October is ADHD awareness month! As a person who has ADHD, and as someone runs a camp that is inclusive for neurodiverse kids - I wanted to share a little about my personal experiences, and what ADHD is and what it isn’t.
As a child, I often felt like I wasn’t able to live up to expectations from the adults in my life, and I as I grew into an adult I kept waiting for my brain to flip over to “normal” mode. That magic mode was one other people could go into so easily, and it let them sit for hours at a time, focus and immediately start on a task, or remember where an important item was left. Just one time I hoped I would remember someone’s name the first time they told it to me, like I’d seen so many other people do all the time.
Spoiler Alert - That day never came! As an adult living with ADHD I still have all the same challenges that younger Scott had, though I have gotten much better at managing myself. It wasn’t until I started really trying to learn and understand how my brain is different that I was able to accept myself and my ADHD brain. My brain is just a little different, not better or worse, and in fact I have now learned to love a lot about my ADHD brain.
Here’s a great video resource if you want to learn a little more about how ADHD brains work!
Time to learn about ADHD brains!
The Name is Not Very Accurate
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In pop culture and in a lot of movies, shows and media, ADHD is often represented as someone who has more physical energy than they can handle. Picture the “bad kid” running around causing chaos at the family picnic, letting the dog eat the family dinner, or ruining some special event. THIS IS NOT ADHD! Mostly.
Learn more about Jessica McCabe’s story, and how ADHD people can often feel like failures at being “normal”
In real life, ADHD is not as simple as a deficit of attention and an excess of energy. In fact ADHD presents in 3 different forms – inattentive, hyperactive, or a combination of both. I have the inattentive form of ADHD, which as a child meant often being labeled as a “space cadet” or having adults tell me I wasn’t trying hard enough. I was far more likely to be in my room reading or playing Nintendo than to be outside causing problems. People with ADHD brains like me will probably relate to this – everyone thinks they know ADHD, and most of them are wrong.
The Good, The Bad, and The Different
While the name of this disorder uses the word deficit (which is correct in a clinical sense), I think that word is very misleading. People with ADHD brains don’t have a consistent deficit in attention, we just have different amounts of attention, in different times, and in different ways. In fact, sometimes ADHD brains can go into a hyper focus mode, where they can put in far more energy and attention that the so called “normal” brains. I can’t lie, it’s pretty fun sometimes!
As we always say at Camp Southern Ground – different isn’t better or worse, it’s just different. ADHD brains can sometimes struggle in institutions or places that are set-up for typically developing brains. Yet they can also often succeed in places where typically developing brains struggle. If something takes an intense amount of passion and effort, or if it requires creative and inventive thinking – ADHD brains thrive.
Check out the short list of famous ADHD brains (either to the side or below) and see if any are unexpected to you!
A Small List of ADHD Brains:
Simone Biles
Michael Phelps
Bill Gates
Sir Richard Branson
Jamie Oliver
Justin Timberlake
Jim Carrey
Researchers also think that a few notable historical figures likely had ADHD
Albert Einstein
John F. Kennedy
Leonardo DaVinci
ADHD – A Difference, not a Character Trait!
The list of ADHD brains is one that anyone would be happy to be included in! However, what most of us with ADHD really want all of the typically developing brains to understand is that our ADHD is just a difference not a character trait. We are not lazy just because our brains take more effort to start new tasks. We are not dumb just because we struggle to pay attention to an hour long lecture. We are not careless just because we forget where we put things.
We are not better or worse, we’re just different, and different is what makes this world a truly amazing place.