October is ADHD awareness month.
If you know me at all, you know that I like to play with words. And ADHD Awareness, those two words together, have multiple meanings for me.
ADHD Awareness could mean “I am aware of ADHD. I’m aware of its definition, some of the top behavioral traits that go along with ADHD in children, or in adult males or adult females”, etc.
That could be one way that we are aware of ADHD.
This first part, the “I am aware of ADHD” part, may seem unnecessary to you, but I experience ADHD resistance from people regularly. Because it is invisible, I hear that “ADHD isn’t real”, or “that person doesn’t have ADHD, that person needs better self control or to just try harder”, or, from older generations, “ADHD didn’t exist when I was a kid, so it doesn’t exist now”. Yes, it did exist, we just didn’t have a name for it. And we do have a name for it now, and we know more now, thank goodness.
We cannot deny ADHD exists, or that a person has ADHD. And in terms of awareness, unless you are a clinical psychologist, we also cannot diagnose somebody with ADHD.
I have also heard the complete other end of this spectrum, instead of ADHD doesn’t exit, I hear “Well, we all have ADHD sometimes”. Or “aren’t we all a little ADHD?”, as if that was possible. While this may seem like a more accepting stance than “ADHD doesn’t exist”, it still doesn’t yet respect the impact “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” can have on the folks who have it.
Disorder.
Disorder.
There are external behaviors or characteristics that we all may have that people with ADHD also exhibit. Our focus may wander, we may act impulsively, we may have high energy, we may struggle with time management. I have talked about the characteristics of ADHD in other articles and podcasts. From time to time, we all exhibit what may be characteristics of ADHD, but what determines ADHD is how long we exhibit them, how often, to what extent, how they impact our day to day functioning, and with what other behaviors and characteristics. So to respond to “we all have ADHD sometimes”, or “we’re all a little ADHD” – Yes, we all may exhibit the behaviors we expect from someone with ADHD, but how much do those negatively impact our lives? If we are neurotypical, if we do not have ADHD, for example, we are much less impacted.
The first step of awareness is to realize that ADHD exists and what it means. And the next is to find out how it shows up. “ADHD Awareness” can also mean awareness of how ADHD shows up in ourselves and others.
The current data shows that more than 11% of the child population has ADHD (per the CDC website), and that number accounts for only the diagnosed cases. Because ADHD is invisible, and because some people with ADHD can become adept at managing their ADHD on their own or masking their challenges, the actual number is definitely much higher.
So we can be aware that it exists, and we can be aware that we definitely know someone with ADHD. Using that 11% or more of the population statistic, if you know 100 people, at least 11 of them likely have an ADHD diagnosis. If you only know 10, it’s likely at least one has ADHD.
Now, here’s what’s interesting to me in what I do. I’m a certified professional organizer with specific training from Coach Approach for Organizers and the Institute for Challenging Disorganization in helping clients who have ADHD. I help them, through coaching, to find essential structures that support them in the midst of ADHD, to help them to be the best they can be.
And because of who I know and who I work with, and because people feel comfortable enough with me to share, far more than 11% of my circle has ADHD. I find that interesting but in no way negative. It’s noteworthy but not in a bad way. It exists. It exists for a lot of the people that I know, and I have ways of helping them.
A long time member of my community asked me to write more about ADHD, especially Later In Life Diagnosis. There has been a swell of ADHD diagnoses in adults over the past few years. Pre-pandemic and pre-lockdown, many people with undiagnosed ADHD got by and made things work. But the loss of external support structures and the added demands and stresses that came with our home and work lives during pandemic and lock down made many people realize there may be problems that exist that have never been addressed.
And as mentioned before, there are strategies that help all of us and also people with ADHD to get more done, be more productive, manage our responsibilities, manage our stress. I look forward to helping my clients, neuro-typical and neuro-diverse. That’s the answer for me.
In this ADHD Awareness Month, let’s gain awareness of ADHD a little more locally, then, as in “I am aware that this family member or this coworker has ADHD, and I will spend time in October exploring with them what that means for them. If I am in a supportive role for that person, how I can best support that person?”
At the conference I attended last month, we discussed a really powerful and simple tool for working with a neuro-diverse person, like someone with ADHD or that may be autistic. And truly, I think it is a great tool to use for communication with anyone. We ask – what is normal for you?
(And recall, I just talked about normalizing in a recent podcast episode!)
For example, I could say to a client or family member or co-worker,
“Some people like to listen to music while they work. Does that work for you? And if so, what would be your normal music to listen to?”
Or,
“Some people like to use timers to remind them to wrap up a project and move on to their next appointment. Sometimes that works for me. What is your typical way of transitioning from one task to the next? A timer, a visual cue, a verbal reminder from me? Do you have a typical way? What is your normal?”
Ask others “What is your normal?”
Normal movement, temperature, conversation level, work schedule and rhythm, etc.?
These are examples of organizational coaching questions, and I am a professional who works with clients with ADHD. These might feel formal to you, but perhaps you can think of some on your own to open up these topics of conversation with the people around you.
And, my friend, you are allowed to ask for these questions and solutions for yourself, too.
Using myself as an example, because I don’t have to ask permission: if you asked me what my normal is:
I like a visual calendar with blocks of color. I like a digital calendar because I can maneuver the info quickly and easily.
I don’t like being hot, it makes me feel physically ill.
I do not like to listen to music while I work, mainly because I am working with words and I find it hard to have the words I am working with conflicting with the words I am hearing. In a conversation with my husband recently about working with music on, he mentioned he likes music and it works for him because he is dealing with numbers. I appreciate that insight.
I appreciate patience from a person who interrupts me for me to catch up with what they are saying because it takes my brain a moment to switch over to them.
I don’t like to be late, it makes me really anxious.
Those are parts of my normal. What is your normal? Once you know it, can you ask for it? And can you ask others how to support their normal as well?
In this ADHD Awareness Month, let’s understand that ADHD exists, and what that means. And let us gain awareness around ADHD in the people around us and even in ourselves.
Other articles of mine on ADHD:
https://peaceofmindpo.com/2021/10/13/adhd-awareness-month-for-yourself-and-for-others/
https://peaceofmindpo.com/2023/10/23/october-is-adhd-awareness-month-more-than-just-awareness/