While the month of October is best known for being a spooky season, it is also ADHD Awareness Month, which is something I feel needs to get more attention brought to it. I feel it isn’t really something most people are aware of, possibly due to the stigma that still surrounds it.

ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders, with around 9.8% of children in the US from the ages of two to seventeen years old being diagnosed. The most common symptoms of ADHD are having trouble paying attention, being easily distracted, fidgeting, and being very impulsive. There are many other symptoms, but these are just the basic ones that most are aware of. ADHD is also typically comorbid with anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and depressive disorders just to name a few. 

This disorder can, for some people, cause a lot of strife, but for many others, it can be a hidden gift. The reason I say this is because one of the less focused symptoms is “hyperfocus.” This is when a person with ADHD focuses with extreme intensity on something that they are interested in, and that can be really helpful in a job or school scenario because it helps them get a project done faster than their peers (if interested in said project.)

There are also many things that you can do to support your ADHD friends and family. One of them is to try and educate yourself as much as possible on the subject so that way you can learn what life with ADHD is really like. Another way to help is to just be there for all of the person’s struggles and remain patient with them and keep in mind that the other person’s brain doesn’t function exactly the way your brain does and that the person is doing the best they can. 

ADHD can be a struggle for many people and possibly even someone you know personally, so I hope this article helped you understand a little bit more about what ADHD is, how to support your friends who may have it, and one of the small benefits that ADHD has.