Okay. Its time for me to stop hiding behind these closet doors! I am who I am and I am proud it. I have ADHD. I know, it sounds like a disease, doesn't it? Or maybe it's a learning disability? Could it be a mental disorder? Hmmmm...
What's does it all mean? For me, it means that I don't think like the majority of the population. My mind is never quiet. I think fast and jump subjects. I interrupt people. I lose focus or I hyper-focus. I am impulsive. And at this point, you're probably wondering why I didn't keep this in the closet. There are a lot of good things too. I'll get there.
Having ADHD is a part of me. I didn't realize this until a few days ago. While I knew it was improbable, a little voice in my head thought that taking my medicine makes it go away. It doesn't. It just takes off the edge. Its not something that I can separate from who I am, instead it is a building block of me. There is no cure, there is no medicine that will completely eliminate the symptoms.
So why write about it? There are a lot of good things about having ADHD (don't worry, I will get to these good things in a different post). Our society is seriously lacking information about ADD & ADHD. Did you know its genetic and its doesn't go away? You might have never been diagnosed as a child, but you've always had it? (Side note: Do not self diagnose, see your doctor or a trained professional if you think you have ADD/ADHD) There is so much to learn about this... really!
Our education system needs to learn how to teach ADD/ADHD. It does NOT mean that a person is dumb. We process information differently. Lets find away to teach people with ADD/ADHD. I'm sick and tired of seeing educators assume that ADHD equals stupid or hard to teach. We're not. We just require different teaching styles.
In the workplace, if you utilize the natural skills and talent that a person with ADHD brings to the table, we are unstoppable.
For parents. I have two daughters. One's too young to diagnose. The other, she most likely has it too. She's impulsive in school, shows no remorse and doesn't stay on task during unstructured times. My husband. He has ADD, he lacks the hyper but has the rest.
For my ADD/ADHD audience. You're not alone. I get it. I've been there. I understand. Its really hard fit in. But you have a place here.
It hasn't been easy. But I've come to the conclusion that people need to be better educated on this subject. I want to give people without ADHD the tools to understand it and work with it, in home, school or work place. I believe that more and more people will be diagnosed as time goes on.
Next post... I'll tell you more about me and why I think I can do this. Thanks for reading!!
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