Myths and Facts of ADHD

Resources Series: The fourth Monday of every month, we introduce you to cool stuff you haven’t seen yet. Always useful, never viral, often fun.

W hether you were recently diagnosed with ADHD or have been affected by it for years – either because you have it and it’s complicating your life or someone you know has it and they’re complicating your life – it’s good to remind yourself of what it really means to have ADHD.

To that end, the ADHD Resource Group of Northern Virginia produced the handy information sheet, Myths and Facts of ADHD.

The one-page document presents nine “myths” of ADHD, where “myths” refers to actual myths, like “ADHD is not a real disorder”, as well as to things that may be true but are uncommon, such as, “We can manage ADHD symptoms on our own.”

My favorite one is, “Everybody has a little ADHD,” which is obviously a perfectly reasonable assumption in today’s era of distractions. The truth is that if you think this, you simply haven’t dealt with enough people who are the real thing.

I’m a big fan of this little sheet. If Barry the Study Dog had ADHD, I’d post a copy above my desk and his treat stash so that we could both be on the same page about the challenges he faces; pun intended.