I know this is a blog about ADHD, but I saw this video by What You Ought To Know, and I was really impressed with it. ADHD is typically accompanied by learning disabilities, and I have a brother with Down Syndrome, so this is a very sensitive topic for me. I was very pleased to have found a video that emphasizes that people with Learning Disabilities (LD) are not dumb. My little brother is only three and already knows the entire alphabet. Retarded? I think not!
Similarly, people with ADHD are not lazy, stupid, or crazy (I borrowed that from an actual book: You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! by Kate Kelly). Instead, as Jed pointed out in the video, people with ADHD have their brains mapped differently from everybody else. It's not as drastically obvious as it is with people with Autism, so it frequently seems like the person with ADHD just isn't trying hard enough, isn't interested, or isn't all that smart. But I can assure you, that isn't the case. Take me, for instance. Last time I checked, my IQ was somewhere around 120 (I'm not sure how accurate that was, since it was using free online IQ tests). But, despite this, I still struggle to keep up in school. Why? It's not because I don't get the material. In fact, I usually get the material faster than my classmates. The problem is that I have trouble paying attention, and I frequently forget about assignments that are due. My ADHD also makes it difficult for me to fall asleep, and, once I am asleep, I have difficulty waking up. This interferes with my schooling as well, especially when I have a 7:45 a.m. class.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the next time you meet someone with an LD, please refrain from using labels such as retarded, dumb, stupid, lazy, etc. Nine times out of ten you don't know the person well enough to give them such a label. Remember: "I am 100% original. No label needed."
