The importance of normalizing ADHD

Flying back from a trip, I sat next to a gal about my age. She wore noise-cancelling headphones for most of the 5-hour flight. As can be the case with this autistic kid, we started a conversation half an hour before we landed.

We talked about our jobs and shortly after I described being an ADHD and autism specialist, she told me she had ADHD. “When I stop vacuuming one room when half-done to begin cleaning a different room, that’s a problem!”

Yup. Sounds ADHD-like symptoms to me.

The conversation continued around many doctors not believing women and girls can have ADHD and the various diagnosis females often receive instead of ADHD. We discussed traits her kids inherited from her and how her daughter was diagnosed with anxiety.

As we continued to talk, we neared our destination. We began our decent and ended up discussing meds. As luck would have it, we both take the same prescription for our ADHD. She asked if she should change meds and told me her current meds helped her focus. I told her I’m not a doctor, and if she feels life is going well with her current protocol, I wouldn’t be the one to suggest a change.

#adhdtips

A half-hour conversation helped her to feel normal and not alone. One of the greatest feelings a person with ADHD can experience is knowing their experience is shared by others, and that they’re not crazy, lazy, or stupid.

Our neurophysiology and neurochemistry make us different. It’s up to each of us to discover how we can transform these societally-labeled deficits into our superpowers.