ALL of our stories could and SHOULD be success stories. Our children don't have to struggle in school each day, not if their teachers and other school personnel are aware and informed about ADHD—and expected to demonstrate that knowledge in their classrooms every day and with every child.
Our teens don't have to suffer in silence, the burden of ADHD on top of those raging teen hormones making life too hard to face without drugs, or alcohol or unprotected sex—or all three. Not if we parents become informed about what to expect—and how to handle it; not if we know when and how to intervene and assist them because our schools, our churches, our doctors are informed and aware of the impact of ADHD and have helped us in this parenting role as they do with all the others.
And we don't have to hate waking up every morning, fearful that today is the day that I get fired, my partner leaves, the car gets repossessed or that I will have to face any one of thousands of little demons ready to trap me within my own ADHD. We wouldn't have to be so afraid if our employers, our colleagues, our partners and families, colleges and universities, our doctors, even law enforcement all knew and understood that ADHD is real, and that untreated, under-treated or mistreated it can lead to devastating—even deadly—consequences. If they knew that we don't ask for or need unreasonable accommodations or exceptions... but just a few simple modifications and the gift of understanding.
So, yes that's why I fight the fight... why I join my voice with others to raise awareness about ADHD and implore you to do the same. It's why I belong to ADDA and have committed to being its next president even through the exhaustion of 15 years of ADHD advocacy. It's why I urge anyone with ADHD, with loved ones with ADHD to join me—to join us—to get the word out, raise awareness and make sure that five-month old baby has an easier time of it than her mother did, than her mother's mother did, than you and I did. September 17, 2008 is ADHD Awareness Day... lets make the most of it for that little girl's sake!
Peace and Love,
Evelyn
