Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a non-apparent, neurodevelopmental disorder that can cause, among other symptoms, restlessness, inattention, lack of executive function, carelessness, unnecessary risk taking, and trouble taking turns or sharing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), causes for ADHD range from premature birth or low birth weight to brain injury and environmental factors.
ADHD is common. According to Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), an organization that promotes resources for individuals with ADHD, the prevalence of ADD/ADHD is roughly 7.2% in children under the age of 18, and approximately 3.4% in adults.
Due to the behavioral nature of many of the symptoms of ADHD, over time, the term ADD or ADHD has come to be used as a term of derision for those who exhibit poor behavior or poor attention. This is the heart of the problem — or, a problem, anyway. On the one hand, ADHD is well understood, and the ways in which to help individuals with this disorder are well known. On the other hand, the high occurrence of this disorder means that it has become so commonplace as to be seen as being unserious.
It is this view that has led to a culture in which a child displaying poor behavior may be accused of having ADHD, and then be dismissed. Phrases like, "Oh, he’s just being ADHD today," or, "I’m having an ADD moment," are so common as to be dismissed as part of the vernacular.
However, this dismissiveness is a great struggle that many individuals with ADHD face. How can a person expect to receive accommodations and resources when their disability is seen as nothing more than bad behavior? How can an individual who is struggling hope to receive help when their plight is viewed as a lack of focus and effort? How can a child approach a teacher with a need for help, when for the past hour, that child has been walking around the classroom rather than sitting in a desk? Will that teacher give the student help? In the case of an adult, would an individual who is chronically late turning in work be able to ask their employer for help and be taken seriously?
A false narrative of laziness has been created around ADHD, sometimes making individual pleas for help seem like a stalling tactic. ADHD is a very real, very complex disorder, with far-reaching consequences. Individuals with this disorder are more likely to struggle with everyday tasks, and these struggles can be written off as an individual not trying hard enough.
For many individuals with this disorder, something as simple as asking for reasonable accommodations may be dismissed because too many teachers, employers, service workers, and others have come to believe that ADHD isn’t a real disability, in part because it is so common.
Much of the problem stems from the language that surrounds ADHD. In a culture that has become very sensitive to using derogatory words to describe individuals with a disability, and is opposed to using those same words as insults for others, ADHD is an outlier, where the acceptability of using ADHD as a description of behavior remains.
As is the case in so many situations, a lack of awareness, rather than any real mean-spiritedness, has led to this point. People generally want to be kind, accepting, and accommodating, but have overlooked conditions such as ADHD due to the frequency with which it occurs and the casualness with which it is discussed. It is only through education and outreach that this perception can be changed. And it should be changed.
In the same way that an individual that has paraplegia or blindness should be treated with respect and dignity, so too should individuals with ADHD. So too should all individuals.
Removing stigma requires education so that a culture shift can be made away from exclusion toward inclusion.
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