Tomorrow sees the start of the month with the theme this year being “The Many Faces of ADHD”. But why do we still need it?
There are often misconceptions regarding ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions.
ADHD awareness month aims to disprove these myths and focus attention on the impact ADHD has on people.
Vicky Flood, an ADHD coach from ADHD Wise UK, said, “ADHD is a little bit more than forgetting things or just this really rubbish acronym that nobody really understands.
“It’s more than what people realise and that’s why we need to understand what is going on for people. People just sort of dismiss it as being something that is just people being awkward, or lazy, or they can’t read and all those horrible labels.
“If we don’t fully understand it, then people won’t ever get on in life, and that’s not where we want to be.”
ADHD Wise UK was founded in Liverpool by Jannine Perryman.
Vicky said, “Jannine founded it when she discovered that she needed help and there was very, very little out there. She was finding out new things and going, hang on people need to understand this.
“Before I joined Jannine, I was in the same position, I just started discovering what was actually going on and what ADHD was and thought, people need to understand this and
understand how it affects you and your executive functioning. So, it was quite a revelation, merely.”
The organisation teaches individuals and courses for workplaces as well as offering support for parents.
Vicky has noticed a big shift in attitudes since the awareness month was launched more than twenty years ago.
She pointed out more work than ever is going into understanding the condition.
According to National Library of Medicine, Google Trends show a steady increase in ADHD related searches with March 2022 seeing the highest it’s ever been.
Discussing the new recourses people have access to, Vicky said, “TikTok and social media do have a part to play, but it’s not always the correct information, or enough I suppose.
“There is a lot more organisations nowadays to be able to go to and ask questions of and there’s a lot on YouTube. People like Russell Barclay and Ned Hallowell who are American Doctor of Psychology and psychiatry are good to follow.
“It’s really important for those that think they may have ADHD or know somebody that has ADHD to be looking at that kind of information and understanding what that means.”
She stressed that the key places to go are reputable companies, such as Define Fine, National Autism Society and PDA Society.
