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Labeled?  5 Tips for Overcoming the Stigma of ADHD

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ADHD can affect anyone regardless of age, culture, gender, ethnicity, or social class.  Public attitudes and beliefs expose them and their loved ones to prejudice and discrimination.  Internalization can result in embarrassment or self-loathing.  There are strategies to turn these negative perceptions around over time.

The challenges of ADHD are not always limited to primary symptoms.  In 2001, the World Health Organization declared stigma and the associated discrimination towards persons suffering from mental and behavioral disorders to be “the single most important barrier to overcome in the community.”

Ignorance reigns supreme as a cause of the problem of stigma toward people with ADHD.  More than ⅔ of people in the United States and Canada have never heard of the disorder.  Myths and misconceptions also lend to challenges in understanding.  There are many, but here are a few.  Let’s dispel stereotypes with the facts.

  • It is not a medical condition.  According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ADHD is a valid disorder with severe, lifelong consequences.
  • It’s a new thing.  In 1902, pediatrician described a group of children who were hyperactive, impulsive, and inattentive.
  • It is an excuse for failures.  For most, the harder they try, the worse things get for them.
  • It only exists in the United States.  ADD/ADHD is found in every country worldwide.
  • Ineffective parents are the cause.  Research shows that it is most often inherited.

Stigmatization is something that is done to one’s self-esteem.  The effects not only cause difficulties in life, it can increase stress.  This can be transferred to more serious symptoms.  The circular negative motion creates a cycle that is difficult to reduce.

People and families who are unprepared and without counsel often have their resilience worn down.  Looking within provides a good place to start.  Learning to be aware of their abilities and value is one way to counteract negative comments.

Fortunately, some seem to be able to endure the uniqueness of being diagnosed with ADHD.  Treating their differences as a source of notoriety, they find fame and congratulate themselves.  They discover ways to enjoy the attention that this brings.

Another trip in the WayBack Machine…

Ahh.  A beautiful, sunny afternoon.  Just said goodbye to my little princess Odie.  NOTE:  This was really long ago so I didn’t have my Rottweiler.

Revving up to the small mansion.  Hopped out of my little car with a stack of math textbooks.  Ringing the doorbell, I had to wonder…can mansions really be small?  BUSTED!  I was staring at the puffy clouds when the door opened.

“Hi, I’m Margie.  Rory has ADHD and everybody at her school knows it.  She’s in all advanced classes because she’s smart.  I have to go to school every week because she needs her accommodations.  Now she doesn’t like adults, but she’ll like you.  Everybody likes you.  I know because I know everybody at…”

An hour later, I never said a single word.  Just held my breath…Yikes!

Finally, a break in the action.

“Hi, I’m Rory.  I like you because you stand up to my Mom.  I’m cool that everyone knows that I have ADHD.  I know that you can help me.”

Three Black women with smiles all around.  We know, 3 gigantic egos too.

Let the games begin…

Beginning with school authorities, educators must remember to address behaviors based on the disability, not blame the individual.  Teachers may feel contempt for deviant behaviors and low academic performance.  There are additional social challenges as students with ADHD are shunned, less favored by friends.  Bullying is common.

Overcoming the stigma of ADHD relies on knowledge and understanding.  Both families and students are burdened as there is a lifetime persistency on the reaction of others.  Putting things in perspective by seeing selves realistically.  Empowerment.  That’s the way.

  • Speak out against injustice.
  • Write a letter explaining details of your situation.
  • Get involved with advocacy groups (CHADD, ADDA).
  • Read.  Research.  Get educated.
  • Remember that negative feedback may occasionally be valid and valuable.

Stigma thrives in silence.   During the last 10 years, an increasing number of studies have been undertaken to expel the negative perceptions of ADHD.  The belief is that the overall construct is changeable, with time and knowledge.

How have stigmas against ADHD impacted you?

Learning Styles:  16 Strategies for Teaching Students with ADHD

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Learning Styles…It’s just like ice cream: Everyone has favorites. It’s the same when it comes to learning. The challenge is that we may not know our preferences. This is the challenge in the classroom too. ADHD doesn’t just affect behavior.Continue reading… Learning Styles:  16 Strategies for Teaching Students with ADHD

ADHD and Critical Thinking: Can skills improve?

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People with ADHD and thinking skills?  It’s tough… how about critical thinking?  It’s tough, but there are strategies.

Critical thinking uses working memory to think and solve problems.  It requires learners to recall previous information, training the brain during the process.  It recognizes the changes as a result of  greater demands.

The United States ranks 24th of 29 developed nations in critical-thinking assessments.  With executive functioning deficiencies, people with ADHD are especially vulnerable.  This occurs regardless of intelligence.

To develop as thinkers, students with ADHD must pass through stages of development in critical thinking.  Parents and teachers must recognize that improvements occur through proper cultivation.  This takes place and must be tested in both the classroom and everyday life.

  • Lacks common sense.
  • Doesn’t think for self.
  • “Freezes” under pressure.
  • No filter for speaking.
  • Poor working memory due to distractions.

Memorization is the cornerstone of critical thinking.  In fact, some research correlates working memory with IQ and problem-solving ability.  Students who struggle with learning processes, like those with ADHD, face many challenges.  Their tendency toward distraction can lead to a weakened ability to think about problems.

Evidence shows that there is weak brain function in both the left and right hemispheres.  Extra help and support that targets and strengthens the areas of delay allows students to catch up with their peers.  It also increases opportunities to experience new learning success.

Situational variability is based in specific tasks or circumstances.  Students claim that “I get it,” but they really don’t.  This results from weaknesses in thinking critically about problems.  Providing a structured, organized learning environment is the key to developing understanding.

  • Recognize common reading fallacies.
  • Identify relevant information.
  • Create categories and classify items appropriately.
  • Analyze analogies.
  • Distinguish between evidence and interpretations of evidence.

Critical thinking impacts the workplace as answers come from within, not from books.  Using lists provides structure in the midst of chaos.  It also provides a set order to follow, reducing drifting focus.

While workers with ADHD often feel alone, success results from human interaction.  Collaborating with co-workers helps to provide a foundation upon which to support subsequent ideas.  Checking in at scheduled intervals will help to ensure progress.

There has been some discussion that critical thinking cannot be taught in a traditional manner.  In fact, many people think logically without formal instruction in logic.  Because of the strengths and challenges associated with ADHD, they can make better improvement when they are forced to explain how they solve problems.  Keeping an open mind encourages creativity as well.

Parents can take a positive role in improving critical thinking abilities.  Teens and young adults with ADHD are notorious when it comes to arguing.  Turn it into a “teachable moment” by teaching the art of debate.  Encourage reasoning about ethical, moral, and public policy issues.

Critical thinking is about curiosity, flexibility, and keeping an open mind.  The key is to focus on the process, not on the destination.  Practicing by doing creates a foundation upon which to build further skills.  While you are in a role of authority, avoid pushing dogma by including reasons as well.

“Our kids” talk about fairness.  How do they ask, or is it tell?

Gifted/Talented and ADHD:  The Dynamic Duo

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“Our kids” with ADHD are special gifts.  It might be more…they may be gifted.  How can you tell?

Being gifted can be somewhat unclear, especially for students with ADHD.  Confusing and contradictory information can be misconstrued.  Delayed diagnosis further complicates the situation.

The term “gifted and talented” is used when students give evidence of high achievement capability.  This includes intellectual, artistic or leadership skills.  Specific content areas may also be identified.

There is no universal framework to guide decisions as to who is eligible for special services.  Unfortunately, differing definitions to determine and abilities result in premature referrals.  

  • Contact with intellectual peers diminishes inappropriate behavior.
  • Interest in subject matter/project is relevant.
  • Excessive talking/interruptions geared toward a need to share information.
  • Success seems to be a function of the teacher or instructional style.
  • Curricular modifications are meaningful in performance levels.

These characteristics sound a lot like those if ADHD.  Trust your instincts.  Get to know your child better than anyone else.  Being able to trust their abilities is crucial, but temper actions with the impact of their disability.  Don’t forget about gifts to improve challenges.

Classroom difficulties often impact students who are also gifted and talented.  Patterns of variability of performance result in inconsistent performance.  This is seen by a high level one day, with a fall in the same subject days later.

Emotional connections are key for learning outcomes.  They love some teachers, but are indifferent about others.  Be aware that these differences can result in anger and frustration.

Students with ADHD thrive in stimulating, rich environments.  Teachers are the key to ongoing performance.

  • Focus on specific intelligences, talents, or gifts.
  • Encourage active questioning.
  • Provide choices in demonstrating knowledge.
  • Incorporate willful engagement.
  • Don’t ignore their disability/accommodations.

Emotional intensity, power struggles, low tolerance for tasks that seem irrelevant.  How about questioning rules and day-dreaming.  Sound like ADHD?  They can result from being gifted as well.

While a universal definition for gifted/talented is still uncertain, some activities help.  Support divergent thinking that results in rare insights.  Encouraging creative ideas can provide new learning strategies.  Use their energy as a driver toward success.

Do you suspect that your child is gifted?

ADHD and Immaturity: Frustration Galore!

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Act your age!  Immature?  You bet, and there’s science to back it up.

It takes longer for people with ADHD to mature.  This nonlinear process causes a back-and-forth that stifles long-term development.  Children can be more than 3 years behind.  It takes adults until their late 30s to reach maturity levels of 21-year-olds.

The decreased volume of brain mass leads to infrastructural immaturity.  Obstructed neuropathways result in impulsivity and difficulties in regulating behavior.  These irregular patterns are difficult to manage.  Others need to realize and modify expectations.

One of the most obvious manifestations of ADHD and immaturity is demonstrated in social skills.  Whether at school, work, or home, being able to interact with others is a critical ability for teens and adults.  Using improvement strategies is an important step to future success.

  • Allow/provide friends of all ages.
  • Share interests with others who are non-judgemental.
  • Take on leadership roles.
  • Interact with non-competitive peers who are well matched.
  • Support development through role-play of social and professional situations.

Families are challenged by questions from others.  They especially focus on what is considered to be age-appropriate.  It is helpful to establish responses on physical, emotional, and social maturity to prepare for events.  Also incorporate awareness to understand and psychological behaviors.

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive, assess, and manage feelings in self and others.  Using feelings in the decision-making process is key to interacting with others.  With adequate EI skills, people with ADHD are better able to manage the toxic effects of anxiety, depression, and anger.

They are not born with EI skills, but they can be learned. Getting feedback from family, friends. and trusted colleagues provides multiple perspectives.  Regulatory management uses emotions to set goals, create plans, and delay gratification.  This provides the awareness to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses (introspection).

Immaturity in the classroom greatly impacts teens and young adults with ADHD.  Their distractibility can lead to gaps in understanding.  Strategies that ground them with instruction provides a foundation for learning to begin.

  • Take on the role of mentor/coach.
  • Put extroversion to good use.
  • Introduce strategies for staying on task.
  • Provide high school/college/workplace transitional planning.
  • Divide large tasks into smaller pieces (scaffold).

Slow maturity results from slow brain development due to the effects of ADHD, especially the impact on the frontal lobe.  Tapping into creativity to foster new ideas is an innovative tool to use in work environments.  With adequate organizational skills, the same is true for high school and college students.

Challenges can become gifts, with the right supports.  

 

Say what?  10 Tips for ADHD’ers Taking a Foreign Language

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Spanish.  French.  Chinese.  Maybe Latin.  Students with ADHD often struggle with foreign language classes.  Some fail.  Some avoid.  Can they get around it?

Struggles often result from phonological difficulties, even in their native language.  These deficiencies often result from language processing delays.  In addition, learners can be exposed to a new alphabet, which exasperates reading challenges.

While most states do not require a foreign language for a standard high school diploma, some require proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in a major language.  The best option is to contact the school in the freshman year for explicit requirements.

  • Discuss the strengths and challenges faced with your student with ADHD.
  • Watch out for later implications.
  • Encourage multisensory teaching methods.
  • Consider that high school provides a more flexible learning environment.
  • Maintain an open dialogue.

The situation changes significantly in postsecondary education as students take ownership of their education.  A large majority of colleges have a foreign language requirement.  Students with ADHD should take the initiative and contact professors for support.

  • Take the course over two semesters..
  • Use tools that focus on organization skills.
  • Seek out professors who provide special structure and pacing.
  • Request course substitution.
  • Become an informed consumer.  Know who to know.

Whether in high school or college, learning a foreign language presents additional challenges for students with ADHD.  Begin focus on speaking and conversational skills.  From there, progress to reading and writing.

Support with positive reinforcement with specific details on how they’re rocking it.  Don’t forget YouTube tutorials!

ADHD and trouble reading? Dyslexia…maybe.

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30% to 50% of people with ADHD also have learning disabilties.  Reading struggles may be the result of dyslexia.  How do you know?  What can you do?

Proficient reading is an essential tool for learning, regardless of the subject matter.  Individualized, structured interventions are most effective.

“Our kids” are concerned about their image. Think about their strengths too (oral skills, good visual/spatial awareness. artistic abilities.)

Do you have struggling readers?  What do you do?