Tips to Advocate for ADHD Awareness in Your Community

Do people make jokes about the fact that you or your child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? Perhaps others make judgments based on assumptions while others avoid the ADHD conversation with you entirely. Without a doubt, negative attitudes about the disorder exist.

According to information published in the journal Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, about 25 percent of a study’s respondents “did not want ‘their child to make friends with a child with ADHD’” while around 20 percent “expressed clearly that they do not want to engage with a child presenting behavior typically seen in ADHD.” In some instances, people blamed family members for an ADHD child’s misbehaviors. When it came to adults, the journal noted that “ADHD in adulthood is even more likely than ADHD in childhood to be associated with misperceptions, confusion, and an increased number of laypeople and professionals lacking disorder-related knowledge.”

[See: 10 of the Biggest Health Threats Facing Your Kids This School Year.]

Why do such thoughts persist?

In short, says David Anderson, senior director of the ADHD and Behavior Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute in New York City, it has to do with stigmas that are often attached to many mental health and learning disorders. “Stigmas do the community a disservice,” he says, adding that many times, children are the ones who suffer as a result.

Jeffrey S. Katz, a Virginia-based child, adolescent and adult psychologist who specializes in ADHD, learning disabilities and behavioral problems, agrees that stigmas are problematic and unfair. He calls ADHD a “hidden disorder,” adding that someone with it may “look normal” when in reality, “a lot is happening” that the community may not be aware of.

Education to Reduce Stigmas

To help reduce the stigma associated with ADHD, Katz, who is also the co-chair of the public policy committee with CHADD – a national ADHD resource – and a member of its professional advisory board, says that being an advocate is important. Taking on that role, he explains, helps not only the child, but aims to reduce the stigma of mental illness and ADHD. But he says that in order to be an advocate and reduce stigmas, it's essential to have a vast knowledge base. Katz explains that many parents come to his office, upset that their child isn’t doing what he or she is supposed to do, until they learn more about ADHD. “When you learn how ADHD works,” it can significantly change a person’s overall understanding, he says.