03. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
"This is the reality of ADHD if you live with it yourself: It hollows you out. It takes away your self-confidence, and your trust in yourself, and your sense of well-being, and your sense of future. REALLY BADLY, almost to the level of depression." - Adult ADHD: Patient Perspectives and Best Practice Strategies (YouTube)
Note: The source for these myths is a rather comprehensive list created by Understood. While the original list contains 8 myths, I will choose to address 5 of them here. As always, I have attempted to address each myth myself, however, along with borrowing some information from the original list.
1. ADHD isn’t a real medical condition.
Firstly, the earliest known mention of what looks to be ADHD comes from the translation of a chapter in a medical textbook that was published in 1775 by Melchior Adam Weikard—a German physician—he describes an “attention disorders”, and as such, this is believed to be one of the oldest references to what we now know as ADHD within the medical community. (source)
In other words, ADHD is not a new fad invented by "big pharma" to push pills.
Secondly, The National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Psychiatric Association all recognize ADHD as a medical condition.
Finally, ADHD was recognized officially as a disability by the Americans with Disabilities Act in the October of 2016 by adding "Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as an example of a physical or mental impairment in §§ 35.108(b)(2) and 36.105(b)(2)."
Therefore, in accordance with the ADA, accommodations for school and work can (and should) be provided with regard to the disabilities, under penalty of law.
Please also keep in mind that ADHD is hereditary, and that there are physical differences in the brains of those who have ADHD than those who do not.
2. People with ADHD just need to try harder.
It is common for children with ADHD, and even adults with the condition (whether diagnosed or not) to be told to try harder. Telling someone with ADHD to simply "try harder", or "just focus more", would be akin to telling someone who was born nearsighted to not be nearsighted anymore by sheer force of will.
ADHD is essentially a chronic deficiency of dopamine in the frontal lobe of the individuals brain. Therefore, if the individual is not interested in the task-at-and, NO AMOUNT of trying hard will allow them to become self-motivated.
3. ADHD is a learning disability.
ADHD in and of itself is not a learning disability. ADHD is classified as a Neurodevelopmental disorder, and it happens to be one of the most common ones out there! (source)
While ADHD isn't a learning disability, it most certainly can affect the way children learn, pay attention to material, and behave in class.
4. ADHD is the result of bad parenting.
Not only does this myth seem to continue to prevail, I've had people tell me directly that "ADD stands for adult didn't discipline".
Research indicates that ADHD hereditary. More importantly, it is a neurodevelopment disorder: Parenting has nothing to do with the disorder itself. Granted, a lot of the symptoms of the disorder do seem like a moral failing of the parent (and then, eventually a moral failing of the ADHD adult).
Parenting has no more control over having ADHD than the color of their eyes. What parents DO have control over is being able to understand the condition their child is experiencing and getting the child help as early as possible.
5. People with ADHD can’t ever focus.
ADHD is not a disorder where an individual can not focus. The disorder causes the brain to be unable to regulate focus. In other words, focus shifts and moves without regulation for the ADHD mind.
In other words, the individual with ADHD can not focus on something they are not interested in. No, they can not force themselves to focus (despite it seeming like they probably could if they just tried hard enough).
