Up the Hill Again.

The most common mistake that most people make is the fact that a child with ADD or ADHD will out grow this disorder. Even educated people make this problem. Take college for example. Even though these children have been tested in order to be admitted into special education programs we require them to be retested in order to receive any accommodations in college. But you would think that this would be the last time that they would be tested but no every four years they are required to be retested. These are not small test they can last upwards of 3 plus hours. While I was attending Troy State they required one type of exam in order to give me the accommodations required by the government but while attending the University of Alabama I am required to retake a different test plus get a note from my doctor in order to receive my accommodations. This would be easy to do if I didn't have a new job were I can not take off any time and then having to go to my second job. This is one of the most difficult misconceptions that people with ADD encounter on a daily basis. But that was not the hardest hill that we must always climb. The largest hill is the one in which people believe that his disorder does not exist. This causes problems within families, peers, and on into romantic relationships. Growing up you are always compared to the children who do not have to leave the room for special classes. This brings up the subject among peers. Some of them are not correctly informed or their parents do not believe in the disorder simply stating "that is just a made up condition to increase profits for the drug companies". This creates a division among the individual with ADD and their peers. When a child is born into a family one parent may have a problem accepting the diagnosis or even the treatment. For example I have no problems with treating this disorder with medication if need be but my husband will not stand for it. If we ever have a child with this problem then there may be a major problem. However, the most difficult one to deal with while dealing with all of the situations is the one where you find yourself in love and the one that you want to spend the rest of your life with tells you that ADD does not exist and that is just an excuse for people who are lazy. This happened to me and it broke my heart to have to break up with the man I thought was the man of my dreams. Because how could I marry a person who can not accept me for who I am. From personal experiences I can tell you that a person leaving with ADD feels like they are always climbing up a never ending hill. This is one thing as future Social Workers that we all need to understand is that the children that we will be serving will not only have problems due to abuse or neglect but they may have ADD and no matter what your personal feelings are that you must understand that these children need their social worker to understand that their daily lives are made more difficult because of their disability. With the correct mentors and guidance to support you any child with ADD can conquer these hills successfully.

Day Dreaming

Distractions are a major challenge in the life of an adult suffering from ADD. This was once was referred to as day dreaming. These distractions can affect a persons personal and professional life. A simple task that most people are able to complete in a short amount of time may take some one with ADD up to twice as long to complete. This is primarily due to the amount of distractions that are taking place at any given time. Most people do not realize the amount of outside interference that takes place with in one work hour. The slightest thing can easily distract an ADD sufferer for a short or long period of time. For example if I leave my office door open just the passing of a coworker or a client can distract me from my current task. As a counselor the largest problem that I encounter is while in session having the phone ring. This usually always distracts me from what my client is trying to convey to me. Ironically in modern day society most employers are unable or unwilling to make basic accommodations for an individual with ADD. This has been my personal work experience based on several different jobs in the past ten years. The feeling of constantly being over whelmed due to the enormous amount of paper work can become very draining for some sufferers of adult ADD. The largest problem that I have found is the new stance that the school systems are taking nation wide. Children who use to be in special needs classes to help the learn the coping skills to deal with their ADD or ADHD are no longer in inclusions classes but made to attempt to learn these skills surrounded by their peers. The major problem with this current policy is that a child that is distracted my a pencil falling will not be able to focus long enough to do his class work and learn these skills at the same time. By working in the school system for over a year it is obvious that this is not a functioning system. Yes these children are intelligent enough to do the same assignments as their peers but they are not leaning the coping skills that they will need for the work force or to attend college successfully. There will be an increase in adults with ADD who are unable to function in the current work force due to the lack of coping skills. Distractions aka day dreams are a very challenging and intricate part of a typical day in the life of an adult suffering from ADD. Many people think that it is easier for these people to take medication for this problem however, the side effects from most medication for ADD has extreme side affects and is often not worth the trade off. One of the biggest difficulties is when a person goes to do a certain task but gets sidetracked and then will often forget what they intended to do in the beginning. This can become a major problem depending of the type of work that a the person with ADD is currently preforming. Distractions are around at all times but usually are not a problem but remember what you may not notice the person with ADD usually will.

Neg. Stigma

This topic is very personal to me seeing that I have been diagnosed since my second grade year. As an adult with ADD there are all new sigma's that come along with this issue. The most important one is the misbelief that ADD is something that you out grow. This is incorrect however I have to continue to put myself through retesting and have to provide new documentation every 4 years to continue to receive the adaptive needs for my college classes. It is also hard because some people or even some professors do not believe that this is a true disorder. I suffer from this problem daily and have to constantly remind myself the coping techniques that I have learned through the years. Because of the retesting and the medications needed the extra expense of keeping up with this disorder can become costly. The negative stigma attached to ADD has cost me myself esteem, and several relationships due to the friends and or family who does not understand this disorder. Most people do not realize the emotional stress caused by the stigma attached by society. Growing up and even as an adult with ADD you are made to feel like an outsider because you are ashamed of many of the daily problems that you may encounter. For example my spelling is not at the same level as my vocabulary so I often do poor on written exams or just feel to ashamed to even write detailed notes at work. This is just one example of the fear that all adults with ADD have because of the negative stigmas that society has placed on these individuals. The most horrific thing that I have witnessed due to the negative stigma's is the fact that most teenagers are not encouraged by their peers, teachers, or parents to pursue further education. I graduated with 6 students who were ADD or ADHD and 2 of us went on to Jr. college and graduated and I am the only one who obtained a B.S\B.A. degree and the only one who went to graduate school. The other students allowed for the stigma to prohibit them from believing that they were capable of graduating from college. I was lucky and had my family who believed in me and refused to allow me to settle for less than my true potential. I also have a cousin who has ADHD and went on graduate with his B.S. and then his M.S.