| ADHD is everywhere these days. We see it on the | | | | has an incredibly packed schedule, with no free time or |
| radio, we see it in our neighborhoods, and people talk | | | | down time, will eventually be overloaded. I don't care if |
| about it like it is the common cold. | | | | your child is president of student council, earns all |
| Can everybody "catch" ADHD? | | | | straights A's, and is captain of the football team or |
| Do we all have a little ADHD? | | | | cheer leading squad. |
| To be perfectly honest, ADHD has moved far beyond | | | | While I think it is great they are so successful, chances |
| the medical field and right into the mainstream. I know | | | | are they are going to reach a state of being |
| this isn't a surprise to hear. You are probably nodding | | | | overloaded. |
| to yourself right now, because it is just so obvious. It's | | | | We cannot, and should never, overlook the need for |
| been this way for some time now, and it's not going to | | | | children to do "kid stuff." |
| change. | | | | 3. Severe - I actually have ADHD. |
| That's why I want to review with you, what I will call, | | | | It's become easy to joke with our friends, or to loosely |
| the 3 variations of "mainstream ADHD." | | | | use the term ADHD to describe a person who is |
| 1. Mild - Everyone has a little ADHD. | | | | multi-tasking or just plain all over the place. |
| I'm going to be honest here, we live in an incredibly | | | | But for someone who really has ADHD, someone |
| demanding time. Technology gives us capabilities to | | | | who really struggles, it can be clear or it can be hidden. |
| accomplish so much, but it comes at a cost. Both | | | | Either way, for these people, it is a constant battle to |
| parents now typically work outside the home. As | | | | get up and approach each day. For children, it is about |
| always, there is never enough time in one day to | | | | ten times more difficult to get out of bed and go to |
| complete what we need to. | | | | school. |
| Bottom line, it's easy to think that everyone has a little | | | | Where you and I (or children who do not have ADHD) |
| ADHD. It's understandable. But in the real world of | | | | are more interested in sleeping in, a child with ADHD |
| ADHD, this is simply not true. | | | | has even less motivation to get up. It's not their fault |
| Not everyone has a little ADHD. | | | | either. For someone who is really struggling with |
| 2. Moderate - I am on overload. | | | | symptoms of attention deficit disorder, a simple task |
| Moving from mild to moderate, the family or child who | | | | like getting out of bed can be an enormous uphill battle. |