A Child's View of ADHD - 2/6/2008

What does it feel like to have attention deficit disorder? The answer to that question can be found in a fascinating new report from the Journal of Pediatric Nursing called “I Have Always Felt Different.'’ The article gives a glimpse into the experience of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D., from a child’s perspective. Assistant professors Robin Bartlett and Mona M. Shattell, from the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, interviewed 16 college students who had been diagnosed with A.D.H.D. as children. The investigators talked to them about how the disorder affected life at home, school and friendships. Like most kids, the students described a life of both conflict with and support from their parents. But in their case, fighting with parents was often triggered by attention-related problems like failing to complete laundry chores or cleaning their rooms. Doing things for my parents and being aware of what needs to be done around the house, that’s the only time it really gets to me or hurts me. Despite the conflict, many students viewed their parents as supportive. One student noted that support from parents often felt like “nagging,'’ but they had little choice. They had to play 20 questions. I wasn’t trying to withhold information; it just took 20 questions to get the full description. You couldn’t ask, “What do you have for homework?” It was like, “Do you have any homework?” “Yes.” “What is it?” “Math.” “What’s it on?” “This stuff.” “Do you have English homework?” “Yes.” They had to go through a much larger spectrum of questions just to get the answer to, “Do you have any homework?” Students also noted that their mothers often made flash cards, helped them organize and prioritize, gave them books on tape, proofread papers and developed numerous other strategies to help them in school. Children with A.D.H.D. felt different from their classmates. One student told the story of being called over the public address system to report to the “special ed” office. Teachers who spent extra time to help them soothed their feelings of isolation, they said. The students said they ended up “missing a lot of stuff” at school because of trouble listening, paying attention and completing homework. However, the students also described developing coping strategies like taking a test on a computer rather than on paper or recording lectures they could later listen to on their iPods. The students’ recollections about friendships in childhood show that while their struggles with schoolwork were obvious, their attention problems also affected their ability to make friends. People looked at me differently, like, oh, she has a disability, oh she’s stupid, she’s retarded. I mean…I just don’t get things as easily as others. And I don’t think they understood that.'’ Not only do I have a tendency to interrupt…but the main problem I have is, you need to think before you say something that can offend other people, or when you ask too many questions…they’ll say it makes them feel uncomfortable. Students noted that even their friends would sometimes mock their disability. I have friends who say, “Oh, it’s my A.D.D. and I don’t want to do my work. It’s my A.D.D. kicking in.”…and they’ll say it in front of me when they know I have it…and I’ll have it the rest of my life. But friends could also help them cope, the students noted. Get a friend who understands, who can call out your name, or tap you or something to get you to focus when you’re zoned out. While the report gives insights into the sadness and frustration felt by kids with attention deficits, Dr. Bartlett said she chose the students because they had “achieved some measure of success by virtue of now being college students.'’ She said she hopes the research can be used to help identify strategies and coping skills students found helpful “as they were growing up and struggling with A.D.H.D. symptoms.'’ One student gave a particularly moving description of how her mother helped her adjust to life with the disorder. I remember just breaking down….And she was like, “Kerri, I did not know any of this. I’m so sorry.'’ And she just held me and I just cried and cried. And she said “You are not different. You are beautiful and sweet.” …It didn’t take away the problem, but it affirmed to me that she cared. No matter how much I went to school and felt like…nobody liked me…when I went home, I knew it wasn’t fake. And it was a good place. There I was loved; I fit in and I was fine. To read the full report, click here. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/a-childs-view-of-attention-deficit/