Disorder. Problem. Life challenge.
Those words, and many others, are all ones that have been used when describing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Much to the disappointment of people with ADHD, their friends and family and some professionals who work with them, those phrases carry a negative connotation. In turn, thoughts that ADHD is something to be ashamed of or embarrassed by often prevail.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a frequently diagnosed disorder among children and adults that impacts “multiple facets of social life,” the authors note in a research review published in the journal ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders. “Therefore, patients suffering from ADHD are at high risk to be confronted with stigma, prejudices, and discrimination.” They mention that “perceived dangerousness of individuals with ADHD” and the “public’s skepticism toward ADHD medication and disclosure of diagnostic status” are among the variables that give rise to the stigma.
[See: 10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids’ Health.]
Shifting From Negative to Positive
“We need to get away from negative labeling,” says June Silny, an ADHD coach who provides her expertise via Skype and phone conversations. She prefers thinking of ADHD behaviors in terms of “Magnified, Intensified, Amplified.” She wrote an e-book by the same name; it’s a phrase she says she coined to explain that people with ADHD act the way they do because everything around them is indeed magnified, intensified and amplified. “We hear and see things other people don’t,” says Silny, who herself has ADHD. “Everything feels different to us.” But rather than develop the mindset that this translates to something wrong or bad, she says such hypersensitivity should be considered a gift in which creativity and the ability to handle a constant overflow of stimuli is a good thing.
Edward Hallowell, founder of the Hallowell Centers, which help treat people with ADHD and other cognitive and emotional conditions in Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle, agrees that people with ADHD are brimming with positive traits. He notes that many of these people often come up with new, creative ideas and that it’s not unheard of for them to become successful self-starters and game-changers. Therefore, he’s a fan of the term, “entrepreneur’s trait,” and thinks ADHD should be renamed as such. Doing so, he says, takes people away from the shame and stigma linked to ADHD.
Thinking of ADHD positively is also second nature for Daniel Arrigg Koh, chief of staff for the city of Boston — and a man with ADHD — who primarily advises Mayor Martin J. Walsh. He says having ADHD has helped him become increasingly productive, a bonus considering his need to multitask on a daily basis. But instead of viewing his ADHD as something that gets in the way of excelling professionally, he embraces it. ” I view ADHD as an advantage,” he says.
So too, does Dona Yasser, a marketing and education coordinator at a New Jersey periodontal office who has ADHD. Rather than focus on the inattentive component, she says it’s more like experiencing an “attention explosion.” Yasser says that while others may think she’s not paying attention, just the opposite is true. Her mind is racing with several other creative possibilities in connection with a task or conversation at hand.
[See: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Counseling.]
These people are far from alone with thoughts that negative labeling surrounding ADHD should go by the wayside.
Doing Away With Labels
“I dislike the concept that everything we don’t like or causes a problem is a disorder,” says Linda Sapadin, a psychologist, coach and author who helps people overcome procrastination and fear. “Disorder,” she says, “suggests that order is the desired state in the first place.” Sapadin, author of “How to Beat Procrastination in the Digital Age,” says such order is something usually expected by parents and teachers who feel that kids in particular should sit still and listen more than they should run around. “We often expect kids to conform to norms in certain environments like school.”
Even the word “disorder,” she feels, puts everything on the wrong foot immediately. “It starts off that something is wrong,” Sapadin says. “It conveys that it’s not normal, that you are not normal — you have ADHD.” Couching ADHD in such a manner is akin to telling someone who enjoys music that they “have musicality,” she explains. She says that it’s not common for people to “have” something when it comes to a hobby or achievement. Since ADHD is about being different or more creative, she wonders why it’s often viewed so badly.
Her suggestion? She says that doing away with labels in general may be worth considering. “This idea of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of labeling and putting down symptoms all relates to the insurance and drug industry,” she says, adding that she “personally feels it’s overboard.” The haste with which kids are prescribed medications to curb a disorder, she notes, is a shame since children are more curious and energetic by their very nature. “Back in the day, it was a good thing that a kid was very active, but now that seems to be a different story,” she says. Before listing something as a medical diagnosis, Sapadin thinks it’s best to “just say kids are different or more energetic.” This gets rid of “terms with a negative connotation,” she says.
[See: 10 of the Biggest Health Threats Facing Your Kids This School Year.]
Focus on Advantages
“Look at the advantages,” Sapadin suggests. She points to famous people who had ADHD, from Walt Disney to Albert Einstein. “It may have been tough for them to sit still,” she says, “but look at what they achieved by always thinking and bringing brand-new ideas to people.” Focusing on the positive traits and accomplishments rather than rushing to label and hold tight to negative wording that perpetuates stigmas, she says, is important. “Something’s only an issue if you define it as an issue,” she says.
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Can Reframing the Wording Surrounding ADHD Help Erase the Stigma? originally appeared on usnews.com
