The Diversity of ADHD
Near the end of 2020 I decided it would be a good time to start learning about other disabilities outside of blindness in order to educate myself and be more informed. I followed advocates with various disabilities in order to get information straight from the source -- people with lived experiences. Throughout my research I kept stumbling across the phrase “Neurodiversity”. Having no idea what this meant I decided to do some searching for a definition.
Neurodiversity is an approach to learning which states that neurological conditions are a normal result of variations in the human genome. Essentially, the goal is for neurological conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and various other conditions to be recognized and respected just like any other human variation. People who have these conditions are referred to as Neurodivergent. It’s important to note that not everyone who has these conditions likes to be referred to as Neurodivergent, it’s just something they can choose to identify as if they wish. I personally have chosen to embrace this label. People who do not have any neurological conditions are referred to as Neurotypical.
I will be specifically focusing on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD since that is what I have first-hand experience with. I was quite shocked to learn that ADHD falls under the Neurodiversion umbrella since I have had this diagnosis for over 10 years and have never been told by any professional. This led me to wonder if there was any such thing as an ADHD advocate on the Internet. To my surprise there was, and I found myself for the first time being able to relate to someone whose brain works similarly to mine. I equate it to joining Blind Beginnings for the first time and being able to relate to people who also had a visual impairment.
I will mostly be sharing about my experience; however, I was also able to talk to one of our youth alumni Owen, who was also diagnosed with ADHD since childhood. I have also consulted with people in the online ADHD community to bring the most accurate representation as possible.ADHD is the most common Neurodevelopmental disorder. It’s usually diagnosed during childhood and symptoms typically proceed into adulthood. People who are diagnosed in adulthood have had it since they were a child, however many people fall through the cracks when it comes to obtaining a diagnosis.
There are three categories of ADHD. The first one is called predominantly inattentive. This was formerly recognized as ADD or attention deficit disorder. People with this type of ADHD typically are the ones who fall through the cracks because they don’t disrupt the classroom. It is also most common in females, which is why many people associate ADHD with males who are hyper active. The main symptoms for this type are trouble following instructions, trouble finishing tasks, trouble concentrating, and trouble remembering.
The second type is predominantly hyperactive and impulsive. The main symptoms for this type are fidgeting, trouble staying still, and interrupting. The last group is called combined type, which is a combination of the first two mentioned.I think something interesting to note is that while there are patterns for males and females when it comes to ADHD, both Owen and I defy these trends. He has the inattentive type which is less common for males and I have combined type. Owen was able to get his diagnosis at the age of eight and I was able to get mine at the age of nine (which is considered early for a female). When it comes to being Neurodivergent, females tend to do something called masking. Essentially, fitting in becomes so important that they tend to copy other people and hide their own Neurodivergent traits so people can’t tell they’re different. Many people assume that ADHD or even autism is just more common in males; however, what’s really happening is that females are being under diagnosed. I was really lucky, because of my visual impairment I was not able to look at other people in order to figure out how I should act. Essentially all of my ADHD traits just came out and when teachers at my school noticed, and I was able to go to my pediatrician and get a diagnosis. My disability was able to get me diagnosed faster than I would have been otherwise.
I wish there was more awareness and support set out into place for people who only have ADHD and no other disability. I believe that severe ADHD should be classified as a learning disability, since for many people it does impact their work. In some places it is possible to be able to get employee accommodations and disability benefits for ADHD, but it is much more complicated for them than it was for me given my visual impairment. Another important thing to note is that often times the people making these decisions are not part of the Neurodivergent community and are Neurotypical themselves. Employers and educators also aren’t obligated to make accommodations for ADHD like they are with some other disabilities. This is an ongoing issue for people in the ADHD community.
Owen and I were very lucky in this respect since because of our visual impairment we were able to get accommodations such as extra time or doing assessments in a separate area that was quiet. There are some accommodations that I’ve needed in the past that I wasn’t able to get because they weren’t vision related. The main ones would be being allowed to listen to classical music while doing my homework and being allowed to record the lecture while I take notes. Some instructors have allowed me to do this, but it was very hit or miss. Being allowed to listen to music or podcasts can be very beneficial, because not only can it drown out the background noise, but for some people with ADHD they need to focus on multiple things at once in order to thrive. For many people with ADHD it can be hard to concentrate only on one thing at a time, such as a lecture. This is why it can be helpful to be allowed to record the lecture while taking notes. When I’m in class, for example, I’m thinking of five or six things at once. This makes me a slower writer, but with the recording I’m able to listen to it when I go home and fill in the gaps in my notetaking.
Although ADHD can present some challenges there are multiple ways of making it more manageable. The first way is with medication. I didn’t start taking medication for ADHD until much later. Even though my doctor recommended it, my parents didn’t feel comfortable putting me on a prescription medicine at the age of nine. As I got older and my hyper activity traits settled down, they felt as though I didn’t need it. In grade 12 I was really struggling with staying focused and getting tasks accomplished. My doctor strongly recommended for me to start taking medication, and I did. Unfortunately, for me this wasn’t the right option. These medications are stimulants, and I found they made me more anxious and gave me heart palpitations. Although this isn’t the case with everyone, I found that the drawbacks outweighed any positive outcome of the medication and I stopped taking it after a few months.
Owen had a bit of a more complicated journey with finding what works for him in terms of medication. He was put on medication around the same time he was diagnosed. He took it consistently until adulthood. He didn’t like the way it made him quiet and more introverted so he started taking it on and off as an adult. He took it through post-secondary and when he first started his job and needed to focus more. During the pandemic, he increasingly found it harder to work from home. He decided to go back on the medication full-time in order to help him concentrate. Throughout the years he was on two other medications before finding the one that worked best for him. Although he did have to deal with some side effects, he believes that the positives outweigh any negative effects. Since these medications are considered stimulants it is important to take them earlier in the day so it doesn’t affect the sleep cycle. They can also be appetite suppressant so remembering to eat so blood sugar levels don’t drop is also vital.
Concentrating while at home during the pandemic has also been very difficult for me. It took quite a bit of trial and error to figure out a system in order to help combat my ADHD struggles. I diffuse essential oils and arrange crystals in order to create the right mood for a productive workspace. Doing some sort of basic at home workout in the morning in order to burn off excess energy also made me fidget less. Recently I was able to obtain a fidget cube. The one I have is 12 sided and it has various gadgets such as a squishy side, joy stick, a switch, various buttons, levers and sliders, and even one side was a scratchy surface in order to rub my fingers against it and create stimulation. It definitely helped me concentrate and sit still. I love using my sense of touch to explore the cube. There is a gadget for every type of motion that I would want to do with my hands, such as turning a dial or pulling on a rubber band. There is even auditory stimulation with all the gadgets being used and the one I got is brightly coloured, which also allows for visual stimulation.
The biggest takeaway I have from my experiences and research is that ADHD is a spectrum and affects everyone differently. It’s very easy to assume that someone doesn’t have something, especially with an invisible disability. Bringing more awareness and providing services for people with severe ADHD who do not fall in any other disability category is so important to ensure equity in both the education system and the workforce.
by Nika Najafi