ADHD Awareness Week October 16-22nd 2011 How You Can Make A Difference

ADHD Awareness Week is October 16-22, 2011. Do you think most non ADHD people really understand what ADHD actually is & how it affects people who have it?

If not, read what ADHD Awareness week is about and some ways you can help reduce the ignorance and stigma many people have about ADHD, and increase awareness about ADHD.

The ADHD Awareness Coalition announced the dates for the 2011  ADHD Awareness Week as October 16th to 22nd, 2011. I helped organize an ADHD Awareness Day event in Vancouver, BC a  few years ago. It’s the 7th year of ADHD awareness days in the US, but still none in Canada. Sigh…

The ADHD Awareness Coalition is made up the following organizations.

ADHD Coaching Organization (ACO)

Additude Magazine

Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA)

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)

The group encourages our colleague organizations and volunteers to plan ADHD Awareness activities during the week of October 16th to 22nd, 2011. Here’s the website for the 2011 ADHD Awareness week campaign.

Here are some ADD ADHD Advocacy Resources From ADDitude Magazine. They list essential articles, expert Q&As, tools & checklists, and resources about ADD ADHD and learning disabilities.

What can I/we do for ADHD Awareness Day?

Here are some ideas from an older article from a previous ADHD Awareness day that is sadly no longer on their website. FYI if you need to book space for an event, start looking for it NOW, things book up very quickly.

For Individuals

• Hand out the ADDA Fact Sheet in your community. Ask if you can place some ADDA Fact Sheets at your physician’s office, schools, disability centers of your local colleges, libraries in your area, or at local coffee shops (many of which have community bulletin boards, or places to leave information).

• Contact the mental health centers in your area. Ask them to put something up on their website and put flyers in their waiting rooms. Better yet, ask them to sponsor ADHD screenings, informational meetings or other activities on Awareness Day.

• Speak to your PTA meeting, Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce or other group about ADHD. Offer ADDA as a resource and/or hand out the Fact Sheet.

• Ask your local library to display ADHD books prominently, perhaps with the ADDA Fact Sheet (see the sample letter in the ADHD Awareness Day Kit on the ADDA website).

• Write and op/ed piece or letter to the editor of your local newspaper.

For Groups

• Place an announcement on your website.

• Do an “email blast” to your e-list.

• Sponsor a workshop on ADHD or have an inservice at your local school.

• Sponsor a fundraiser and donate the proceeds to ADDA.

• Ask your local library if you can set up a table to hand out information.

• Participate in local health fairs where you can pass out fact sheets.

• Collaborate with other advocacy or educational groups in your area to sponsor an event to raise awareness about ADHD in your community.

• Try getting your local newspaper to write an article or op/ed piece about ADHD and/or Awareness Day.

• Ask your Chamber of Commerce if your group can have 5-10 minutes at their next meeting to announce National ADHD Awareness Day and hand out information.

• Place an announcement on your cable company’s free community bulletin board.

• Ask the radio station to do a community service announcement on Awareness Day, or be a guest on a local radio program talking about ADHD.

• Write to ADHD authors encouraging them to request book signings in their local area on ADHD Awareness Day. Most Borders, etc. will order books and let authors sign. They also put up signs announcing the event and some even advertise in their local papers and libraries.

The CHADD ADHD awareness week toolkit for local CHADD groups

Here’s the material it covers

Section 1: Recruit Your Volunteers & Delegate
Section 2: Decide on the Type of the Event
Section 3: Developing A Timeline
Section 4: Plan a Budget
Section 5: Select your Location
Section 6: Solicit Sponsors
Section 7: Publicize the Event
Section 8: Share Information
Section 9: Complete Financial Reports

Do you have any plans for ADHD Awareness week?

Any other ideas on what else can be done to promote ADHD Awareness?