[ Introduction ] Hello today I’ll be talking about adhd (Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder). Some basics you should know before reading is that adhd is a neurological disorder, which affects the way you process the world. Table of contents 1. ADHD types 2. What it feels like to have ADHD 3. How to help someone with ADHD 4. Sources [ Section 1 - ADHD types ] Type one - predominantly inattentive type This type is slightly more mentally oriented, a lot of the signs aren’t visible. Instead people with this type stuggle with remembering stuff and organising. Type two - predominantly hyperactive impulses type One of the most well known types of adhd. This is the one where you can never sit still constantly fidgeting and a lot of impulsiveness. Type three - combined type Then their our the people with both types. This is trouble sitting still focusing etc etc. This type tends to be more of a spectrum of sorts, people with it may not experience every symptom but what they experience is a mix of both types. Some myth busting- audhd is not an official medical term and instead a short word used by the neurodivergent community to say autism and adhd. [ Section 2 - What it feels like to have ADHD ] Impulsive control is a big known sign of adhd. Adhd brains tend to prefer short term rewards then long term ones. Making it harder to complete things and way easier to start new things. The gap between wanting to do something and doing it can be shorter in some cases, this can also be the opposite at times, mostly when it comes to planed activities as adhd brains tend to favour new things then a constant activity. Executive dysfunction, is a fairly common adhd experience, which is the difference between wanting to do something and doing something. It’s when no matter how much you want to do something you can’t get yourself to do it. This may sound ridiculous to people who don’t have this issue, but it’s like not having enough energy to preform basic tasks like (home work, doing the dishes etc etc) Having no sense of time. Having adhd can often feel like everyone has a watch expect you. ADHD makes it more difficult to tell how much time has passed, has it been minute or an hour? Hyper focus is when someone with adhd completely zones out of everything except the work they put doing. This mainly happens when you’re really interested in this one thing and isn’t exactly something you can control. Although good for getting things done when hyper focused it’s way easier to forget about basic tasks like eating, sleeping it going to the bathroom. Choice paralysis. Choice paralysis is the inability to make choices or take action because your faced with to many complex options. When a question has to many layers a lot of adhd people struggle to come up with an answer causing them to freeze. It’s a combination of fear of making mistakes and being overwhelmed by the options. Sleep issues. It’s estimated that 25% - 50% of people with adhd face some from of sleep problems, including insomnia, waking and sleeping at the wrong hours, and more. It’s believed having adhd effects the part of your brain which sends sleep hormones, often sending them later at night then most. Focusing can still be incredibly hard, even if it’s something enjoyable or there is no distractions. It’s a common thing for adhd people to daydream during conversations or doodling on work. Trouble with emotions. Although this can be applied to a lot of things, Adhd effects the brain in a way take makes slowing down and taking a break to think harder / less active, this can be applied to emotions. People with ADHD may appear to have mood swings or be unable to control their emotions because they have no off button on their emotions, when your anger your anger and want to express that in some way, when your sad your sad and want to cry and find help. Difficulty maintaining relationships and self esteem issues. This one will fall slightly into neurodivergence as a whole then just adhd, but a lot if people with adhd report having difficulty keeping relationships. This is mostly because of the mental load having friends is, especially for adhd people. Friendships are somewhat demanding, you need to remember a lot about the person your friends Next sections in notes and credits!
[ Section 3 - How to help someone with ADHD ] Congratulations to all the wonderful friends out there who took the time to read this or the whole thing! You’re already taking the first step to helping your friend with adhdand that is amazing! My biggest tips would be to learn the basics of the condition, this one project is definitely not as big and well researched as I wish it would be, so be sure to check on more sources! Boundaries, ofc if something is harming you in any way you need to make that clear- having adhd isn’t an excuse it’s a reason, sometimes it can be accepted and other times people with it do need to be told no. It’s not your job to be a parent but having boundaries is okay! But not everything is about you. It’s good to have a balance, if your friend forgets to reply to a message or forgets something you told them, it’s not because they hate you i’s because of their brain. A kind reminder can go a long way! Please, please, please remember if you take anything away from this project is that people with adhd are /real people/ and deserve equal rights and empathy just like anyone else! They are not stupid or trying to be rude their just doing their best in a society not built for them. <3 [ Section 4 - Sources ] I have to admit I am not the best with research and credit but here’s mostly where I got info from. - Info I found from people online with adhd! https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/494937234 https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/485925103 - for rp - General knowledge and Google - My own person experience (I don’t have a diagnosis but it is possible I have adhd but mostly from people I know with adhd) Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a nice life <3