Finding Home

Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz had it absolutely correct... there IS no place like home!! (Dorothy probably had ADHD, but let's not digress!) And for me, "home" has become an adult ADHD support group in suburban Chicago.

Anyone who has ever heard me speak or read anything I've written about ADHD, whether to clinicians or consumers or about kids or adults, knows that one of my "take home" messages is always about finding support.

I'm not only a strong advocate of finding support for parents dealing with ADHD, I also strongly believe that we have to help children find support... whether it's through caring adults, supportive friends or formal or informal groups. But my personal experiences have convinced me that support groups for adults with ADHD are almost a necessary component to successful management of the disorder.

When we first began negotiating through all the issues related to managing my son's ADHD, I so clearly remember feeling alone, helpless and, quite frankly, lost. And then I found other parents, most feeling exactly the same way, and we came together to start a CHADD group here in Chicago - the very first of my ADHD support systems or "teams" as I've come to think of them.

But that was only the first of what has been many different kinds and configurations of support teams. And while I know the journey through managing my kids' ADHD would have been much more difficult without the support teams I had then... it wasn't until I began relying on others to help me through my OWN ADHD journey that I found "home".

And home is just what where I consider myself when I walk into the adult ADHD support group I attend. I found the group when they asked me to come speak... I stayed when I realized that the warm, funny, courageous and bright ADDults in that group have as much to teach me as I had to teach them. We're a spirited and interesting group... diverse in our backgrounds, experiences, and careers. (I wish I could say that we are also a culturally diverse group, but unfortunately, as with most organizations, groups, activities and events dealing with ADHD, that's not the case. But that's a whole different blog post that I'll write some other day.)

The group meets weekly - something different from most other support groups I know and probably the reason we've been so successful. I'd like to say I attend every week, but unfortunately the group meets in a suburb quite a distance from my home and work in the city and with current gas prices, I've been missing in action the last few months... and I can feel it. I'm not as complete, my decisions are not as solid and I'm not as "grounded" as I am when I have that special group of individuals to bounce ideas off of, and to share triumphs and tragedies with.

Luckily, I do have other support systems in place that help fill the void of that missing support group. I can talk to the friends I've made there individually, or rely on the people who've made up my support team even before the group became a part of my world. It's helpful... but truthfully it's not the same. I am so convinced that support groups can and should be an integral part of ADHD management for adults (and their partners) that I've made it my "mission" as part of my work with ADDA to help develop and support groups like this around the country.