AD(H)D - Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder

ADHD is a specific learning difficulty, best described from someone who knows first hand;

ADHD from an ADHD Perspective...

...you say you have ADHD, because it is a disorder (apparently). You can't be a disorder, you have to have it! (If that makes sense.)

Personal descriptions are a really hard thing to do. So I will just start with a few of my thoughts about ADHD:

• ADHD is not a disorder!
• It is a series of behaviours uniquely combined in each person. This is why so many people still question whether it exists. Because it's not the same things in everybody.
• It changes with age. (Most people are born with it and do not grow out of it)
• It can be very subtle.
• It can be controlled by diet. (At least to an extent to make it manageable)
• I have lots of energy; nobody else seems to have enough.

For me, it's always been there, I don't know anyone else with ADHD, and I don't know what its like to live without it. The best way I guess I can describe it is, I never seem to know what's going on as much as other people do.

I have sat in the same classrooms as people of equal intelligence and not got a clue, at the end of the session. I don't just mean 'I didn't get the bit about ....' I mean I genuinely can have no idea what the session was about (makes reflective logs and stuff loads of fun).

As I've got older I have learnt to scribble on the hand outs, notes on paper tend to make very little sense afterwards as they can have big gaps in where I have been daydreaming. Where as the hand outs act as a visual prompt as to what was happening in the room at the time.

It's the same with personal relationships, when I meet people I find it very hard to concentrate on what they are saying and not appear rude or like I'm not listening. I'm always looking the other way (something I haven't managed to conquer yet!)

I tend to prepare everything I want to say in my head about 20 times, because if I don't, I get lost half way through a sentence and sound thick, or say something inappropriate. It doesn't make for great conversation for people who don't know me.

As a teacher I never really considered it to be honest, most ADHD children are kinaesthetic learners, so they tend to work how I work. I had very little trouble with the ADHD kids.

Obvious things work like:

• Say their name when you give them an instruction, so that you have their attention before you waste your breath.
• Or touch them on the arm and make eye contact.
• Short manageable tasks with lots of feed back, both as to how they are doing and when the task will be finished.
• Helps to include what will be next for some and this distracts others (down to the individual/child).
• Also ADHD people/kids tend to learn well when they don't know they are learning, so sit down maths never works as well as 'let's go add up cars' for example.

The one very frustrating thing of a teacher of ADHD person is the other teachers. I used to lose the first 15 mins of my lesson to calming someone down, and explaining what they did, why that evoked the response it did and what they should have done.

One thing that sticks in my head when I'm dealing with my daughter is the phrase;

"I didn't know I was out of my seat"

Other teachers and other people assume that an ADHD child or adult is being naughty or obstructive on purpose, chances are they don't even know they are doing it!! Silly noises are a particularly good example of this. My advice if they are working, buy headphones for everyone else and leave them to it! :)

As a parent with ADHD, it can be very frustrating. It is very hard to concentrate on anything with the noise and interruptions of children and I often completely forget to do things or what I was doing! Other than that I would say it's a blessing as a parent, I survive happily on 6 hours sleep and don't understand why everyone doesn't (much to the annoyance of my husband). I have the energy to run around after the kids all day, and try and keep the house the clean. We are always doing more than other families, more activities, more trips to the park, more crafts, more educational stuff, more swimming etc etc because I have the time and the energy to prepare them all, clean up after them all and everything else tends to be done quicker.

One more thing, bear in mind, almost everything that is written on ADHD is written by somebody who doesn't have it!! Even the parents stuff is written by people without ADHD for people without ADHD. I sit there arguing with the book, yet my husband finds them really useful.

Capelen, K. 2008

We are trying to encourage Caplen, K. to write a book on 'ADHD from and ADHD perspective'. We would really appreciate your feedback on this work. So if this moved you, helped you or even gave you an insight into ADHD then please email your comments to Elizabeth - elizabeth@theddc.org.uk who will make sure they are received by the author.

© Caplen,K. 2008

For copyright permission please contact elizabeth@theddc.org.uk