Does Belle have ADHD?

So I'm no licensed clinician, nor do I have the credentials to officially diagnose ADHD. But I live with ADHD, and I've done a lot of reading up on the subject, and I've gotten pretty good at recognizing when somebody else might have ADHD. So does Belle really have ADHD? I don't know, but it certainly looks that way.

Image Credit: Disney

I've always identified with Belle, mostly because I'm a born bookworm. I was the one walking down the sidewalk with my "nose stuck in a book," only pulling myself out of it to cross a street. But recently I've become convinced that there may be a deeper reason why I connect with this book-loving Disney Princess. The reason being what the townspeople say about Belle.

Look there she goes; that girl is strange, no question.

Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?

This one is the most obvious:  the townspeople consider Belle "dazed and distracted." This is the trademark symptom of ADHD. After all, they don't call it "Attention-Deficit" for nothing. 

Never part of any crowd

'Cause her head's up on some cloud.

No denying she's a funny girl, that Belle.

This one is a little more subtle. Many people with ADHD have difficulty in social situations, many times because they have difficulty following a conversation because in their mind they have already gone off on a tangent. Here, Belle is said to never be a part of the crowd because she's always lost in thought, her mind elsewhere.

With a dreamy, far-off look
And her nose stuck in a book,
What a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle.

So, according to the townspeople, Belle is "strange," "funny," "peculiar," and "a puzzle" to them. They say that she's always either reading or off in her own little world, constantly distracted. They say that she "doesn't quite fit in," and to them it is a "pity and a sin." Many people with ADHD find it difficult to fit in with neurotypicals, especially in settings such as work or school where they are expected to conform themselves to social norms. All of this, to me, tells me that Belle might have ADHD.

So, what do you think? Did I hit the nail on the head? Or am I grasping for straws? Tell me in the comments!

To All Those Who Say ADHD is "Just a Myth"

So I was reading an article (found here) on how a study has found that kids with ADHD do better on tests when they're allowed to move around and fidget (which doesn't surprise me at all), and I made the mistake, as I occasionally do, of reading the comments. Trolls aside, I was surprised at how many people claim that ADHD is a myth made by pill pushers wanting to make more money for Pharmaceutical companies, and I was surprised by how many people had very strong opinions about how we shouldn't be drugging up our kids just for being kids. I was surprised not only by how many people had strong opinions on this, for or against or otherwise, but I was also surprised by the rampant ignorance that was present in many of these comments. The ones that were the most vehement seemed to be the most ignorant.

I am one of 15 million

In light of CHADD's #oneof15M campaign, which is to give names and faces to many of the 15 million individuals in the United States that deal with ADHD, I have decided to add my story to the many that have been shown on Facebook. I am an adult woman with ADHD. I am a Darn Hardy Dame. I am one of 15 million.