ADHD Is Essentially Invisible To Those Who Don’t Have It, Need A Major PR Campaign To Take Away Some Of The Stigma

#6. This post is a part of a series where people answer my anonymous survey question. If you have ADHD but haven’t gone public with it, what would it take to you go public with ADHD?

There are risks and rewards for going public with ADHD AND for staying hidden in the ADHD closet. See this post for context on the series.

Support! Friends & family constantly make fun of dyslexic’s and those with ADHD. Would they if they knew I have both? With those types of attitudes out there, one would be stigmatizing oneself by going public. ADHD is essentially invisible to those who don’t have it. It almost feels like it would take a major PR campaign to take away some of the stigma associated with having ADHD. Pete, thanks so much for all your efforts in this area

9 thoughts on “ADHD Is Essentially Invisible To Those Who Don’t Have It, Need A Major PR Campaign To Take Away Some Of The Stigma”

  1. I had no qualms about going public with my ADHD. My parents and brother all have ADHD and we each have different coping skills for our different deficits. Because of this, we also reinforced the positives of our ADHD, so when I am telling someone that I have ADHD, I point out all the positives that come with the negatives, they appreciate the positives and see why I would not give up my ADHD for ANYTHING.

  2. “I point out all the positives that come with the negatives, they appreciate the positives and see why I would not give up my ADHD for ANYTHING”

    wow. very eloquently said Kat. Wish there were more people like you willing to go public and skilled enough to explain it like that, it would help others who are reluctant to get diagnosed let alone talk about it in public.

  3. Major regular PR campaigns amoungst health care professionals AND the general public is certainly what is required to help people get the medical help they need and to “come out”. Its not rocket science – nothing that PR $, campaigns and the will of the political & medical communities can’t fix.

  4. You’re right Greg it’s needed and it’s not rocket science. Would make a huge difference for people with ADHD AND reduce taxpayers expenses on adders who don’t get diagnosed and treated, see some slides on the economic costs of ADHD by Dr. Margaret Weiss, head of the BC ADHD childrens clinic at Childrens Hospital
    http://bit.ly/9yWzjA

    But so far I don’t see anyone willing to do this for people with ADHD, whether that’s govt, opposition politicians, health care organizations, mental health organizations (with the exception of some under funded, under financed, and under resourced ADHD organizations) medical professionals, media, PR people or people who have ADHD.

  5. When I’ve attempted to explain ADHD to employers or friends, their attention usually drops off after 20 seconds. It’s very frustrating to hear, “oh that’s just an excuse” coming from people.

    If the general public is going to be educated on the challenges of ADHD, it’s going to have to be up to people like us who have it and want to team up, share our stories with the media and lobby for awareness.

  6. Absolutely Martina, people continually trash adhd and people who have it and their families, and they get away with it because people with adhd stay silent about it. We need to start speaking up

  7. “I point out all the positives that come with the negatives, they appreciate the positives and see why I would not give up my ADHD for ANYTHING” wow. very eloquently said Kat. Wish there were more people like you willing to go public and skilled enough to explain it like that, it would help others who are reluctant to get diagnosed let alone talk about it in public.

  8. I had no qualms about going public with my ADHD. My parents and brother all have ADHD and we each have different coping skills for our different deficits. Because of this, we also reinforced the positives of our ADHD, so when I am telling someone that I have ADHD, I point out all the positives that come with the negatives, they appreciate the positives and see why I would not give up my ADHD for ANYTHING.

  9. I am pretty open about my ADHD, but I find that it is easily dismissed by others. I really have had to be my own advocate, since even the university disability office appears skeptical.
    I was told to arrange accommodations with my professors, but significantly, I was told to keep ADHD out of my explanation, unless I had to. This strategy was meant to protect me from the professor’s supposed bias against students with disabilities, but I feel that it only perpetuates ignorance. The fear of being “found out”, resulting in different treatment, seems counter to the education and advocacy that should be the goal of services that work with ADHD and other learning disabilities.

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