Thursday, July 23, 2009

Attention; Activity; or ADDed Awareness?

"But why do I always get yelled at?” Please catch me doing something right and praise me for my specific positive behavior. Remind me (and yourself) about my good points, when I’m having a bad day. - from an ADHD Bill of Rights published in The Bigger Picture of ADHD/ADD That You Might Not Know.


When I describe my job to people and mention ADHD, I often hear things like "Oh, kids on medication"; or "Oh wow. You must be a saint."; or, "Hyper kids huh?". At other times, I've noticed ADHD becoming almost a buzz word for any person who forgets something, loses track of a thought, has a messy desk or has an energy build-up (even when it's really a caffiene build up). While those things may be not far off truth in appropriate context, they are certainly not a good full picture of what it is like to have ADHD or to work with those who do. In no way do these descriptions capture the talent and creativity in their energy; their unique way of looking at the world that can instigate change when children with ADHD become adults with ADHD.

In my web wanderings this week, I came across a wonderful posting that outlines a good understanding of the full picture of ADHD: The Bigger Picture of ADHD/ADD That You Might Not Know. I have to include that I am not very familiar with the site it is posted on having just seen it for the first time. I do not know who the author of this post was, but I do know that the content is accurate and extremely user-friendly information that can be (and maybe should be) passed on.

1 comment:

Marja said...

My son has Add as part of Dyspraxia
He doesn't ake in anything (or actually everything) at school
Thanks for the link