Understanding ADHD
October is ADHD awareness month.
If you continued reading, my heart goes out to you and your life that is touched by ADHD. As a parent, therapist and person-with-some form of ADD/ADHD, I know the struggle is not only real, but a day-to-day challenge. In every sector of life, symptoms of ADHD are alive and real.
In 2019 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that nearly 10% of children and teens ages 3 to 17 had been diagnosed with ADHD. Even today, that number is expected to grow as society becomes more aware of the disorder and factors of it. Of course, this doesn’t include the number of people that are not diagnosed, misdiagnosed, or adults (noting a genetic tendency) who have ADHD.
Beyond that, ADHD can be hard to identify due to disorders or issues the child is dealing with alongside it. Issues such as learning (including style of learning), reading disorders, anxiety, and depression are common issues for those with ADHD. Then there are those with seemingly “simply” inattentive and combined types of ADHD (which is really nothing simple). For those with trauma experiences, let’s not forget how those behaviors can mimic or increase symptoms of ADHD. These are crucial to address as well.
The meshed symptoms, behaviors, needs, and just day-to-day challenges is why the symptoms of ADHD should be more generally understood. The CDC actually offers a list of common (and potentially overlooked) ADHD symptoms. This helps people like educators and parents spot them more consistently.
Another common misconception is that youth (and adults!) with ADHD can simply control their behavior and attention. Their behaviors are perceived as a choice: particularly a rebellious one. However, that’s not typically in the case with a child who has a neurodivergent disorder.
Here are four simple but helpful tools when working with those with ADHD (or managing your own ADHD success!).
- Develop clear, behavioral expectations: Be consistent with them
- Create structure around daily activities. Anticipation can cause chaos
- Offer multisensory directions: Verbal, written, etc
- Provide ample opportunities for physical movement: Incorporate hands-on and other movement-related activities. Consider “will movement harm this?”
As a trauma therapist, I wonder: what if ADHD was seen as a strength rather than a neurodivergent “disorder?” Sadly, the condition too often becomes a secondary trauma effect just because of the social stigma that says people all of ages should be able to “pay attention,” “focus,” “Be calm,” “work independently,” “retain information in a too-fast-paced-world” and all the other social norms that really, for human connection, isn’t normal. Maybe normal really should be a bit more of the creative, innovative, flexible, resilient, energetic, and multi-tasked-focused minds that forms of ADHD bring.
Just maybe….
Want to go deeper? Our online course, Understanding Trauma in Foster, Adoptive, and Stepchildren, covers how trauma shapes the behavior of children from hard places, which can help you make sense of what you see at home.
