Officials Work to Bring Awareness of ADHD

JACKSON, Tenn. – ADHD has been associated with challenges and misconceptions, but what is not explored enough is the untapped potential and creativity that those with ADHD have.

Over 23 million adults and over seven million children in the US are diagnosed with ADHD.

Dr. Ned Hallowell, one of the country’s foremost medical experts on ADHD, says he believes that number is actually much higher.

“General studies and estimation are about five percent of the population, but that is surprisingly low because it only takes into account the people who are impaired. The diagnostic manual requires impairment to get diagnosed. If you include the people who are doing well and have it, I think the incidence is more like 30 percent,” Hallowell said.

Hallowell says that we cannot punish young people for their ADHD tendencies. Instead we need to utilize what is going through the brain to achieve success.

“We don’t know what’s going on. Other people don’t know what’s going on, but a lot is going on. As long as you harness that – what I call a racecar brain with bicycle brakes –  as long as you harness the power of the Ferrari, then you can do great things,” Hallowell said.

Hallowell says the downsides will not go away, but it is more important to come up with amazing ideas and advances than it is to be organized and on time.

“And that doesn’t mean the downside will go away. There will still be a downside. You’ll still struggle with being on time and getting organized, and that kind of stuff. But isn’t it more important to come up with bright new ideas to change the world, than to be on time,” Hallowell said.

Nancy Armstrong, the Executive Producer of the First Comprehensive Documentary on ADHD, talked about her inspiration behind the documentary.

“You know we want parents and children to be liberated, to understand that they’re not alone. And that there is an upside to ADHD. So this is fundamentally reframing this from a deficit disorder model, which is just wrong, to a brain type or a trait that comes with some challenges that do need to be managed, but also comes with some pretty significant strengths,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong says that children with ADHD often become demoralized by the time they get to high school because they are blamed for something that they do not have control over. 

Armstrong also has three children with ADHD, which drove her to try and raise awareness and break the stigma behind the diagnosis.

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