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A Personal Introduction to the World of ADHD

by Valerie de Armas

Isn’t it all just something teachers made up to medicate children and make their jobs easier? Can’t those parents control their kids? Why is she so flaky? Look at that mess. It seems she would clean up sometime!

Boy, can I relate to all of those statements. Why? Because I have ADHD—Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

There are many characteristics of ADHD including difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity, impulsiveness, procrastination, poor memory, and learning difficulties. In addition, those with ADHD may be involved in a number of projects at any one time which may or may not ever be finished, have difficulty with organization, and be prone to emotional ups and downs.

Okay, I hear what you’re saying now. Everybody has difficulties with these characteristics on occasion, right? Of course they do. That is in part why it is sometimes difficult to diagnose ADHD. The person who has ADHD will have these characteristics to the extent that they interfere with daily living —to an extent greater than most people would experience.

For instance, before I was on medication for my ADHD, I found it impossible to keep my house clean—to the point of embarrassment. I wouldn’t invite others to my home for fear they would find out how I really lived. I hated the mess and I would attempt to clean it, but I couldn’t—and for a couple of different reasons. One, I would find some “treasure” in my belongings that would divert my attention to something else. Two, I have great difficulty in deciding how to organize things. An example would be filing. Filing is very difficult for me. I have trouble deciding whether the car insurance should go under “Auto” or “Insurance”. And if I file it under one, I’ll look under the other next time I go to the file cabinet and it will frustrate me, so I leave it in the little pile, which grows into a greater pile, which grows into an even greater pile. I call it the file by pile syndrome. Now, I am a college graduate with an IQ well above average. Why is filing beyond me? Because I have ADHD.

My husband doesn’t understand the difficulties I have with everyday things like filing. I’m sure if you have not experienced ADHD (for yourself or through your child), that you don’t fully understand it either. Understanding is made even more difficult by each person with ADHD having difficulty with slightly different things. All persons with ADHD have a problem with inattention or hyperactivity and/or impulsiveness, but these things can manifest in different ways. Some people with ADHD don’t have the problems that I have with organization—others are even worse than I am. Impulsiveness can be manifest in overspending or in a bad driving record. The same thing (the impulsiveness) can cause both problems, but the results are very different. I can understand why ADHD is so difficult for people who have little experience with it to believe or accept, but because of my own experience, I know it exists and can be wonderful as well as frustrating.

In spite of the difficulties many with ADHD experience, there are a number of positive attributes to the person with ADHD. Most are very creative, in fact, many artists, inventors and musicians from history are thought to have had ADHD. People with ADHD are also typically very resilient. There are many frustrations in the ADHD life; resilience is a great advantage for the ADHD person.

I want to go into greater detail in future articles about the positive side of ADHD, the interesting research that has been done about ADHD, the differences in the ADHD brain, help with organization, learning, and work, women with ADHD, and more. Please join me and we’ll explore the fascinating ADHD person together. (Hey, we really are fascinating!)