ADHD…From An ADHDer’s Perspective
The New York Times has published a fascinating glimpse into the lives of ADHDers, showing different ways that people have discovered and coped with their ADHD. Oh. One more thing. It's done with audio clips and a small slideshow. (Multimedia! ADD/ADHD heaven!)



















(On May 22nd, 2008 at 12:16 pm)
Thank you so much, Jeff, for bringing this to my attention. Even though Lew and Matt are friends of mine, I hadn’t heard about it yet. (Guess they were being modest.)
Here is my feedback to the NYT (I hope others will write with positive feedback, too. You can just click on “feedback” to the right of the page….Editors pay attention to this, and the more praise they receive for this coverage, the more they will consider realistic stories on ADHD in the future):
I am in tears as I listen to these voices. I don’t have ADHD and I am not prone to tears. But I am a volunteer in the ADHD community, and we are so weary of being assaulted by ignorance and superstition regarding the ADHD diagnosis and medical treatment.
The fact is, ADHD knowledge and medication can transform a person’s life so dramatically, it is an astoundingly joyous event to behold. It’s why I do this work. And if the public would actually meet real people with this condition who have pursued treatment–instead of continuing to make rash judgments based on theoretical abstractions and misperceptions–more people would be supportive. That’s why your Patient Voices is so laudable.
There is no “controversy” about ADHD as a valid medical condition and medication as a valid treatment. The only “controversy” is why some people refuse to accept these facts and would prefer that children and adults continue to suffer. That is the question we should be asking: Why the mean-spirited resistance and cold-hearted judgments?
Thank you so very much. You made my week!
Gina Pera
http://www.GinaPera.com
(On May 22nd, 2008 at 5:39 pm)
Gina,
I thank you for the great work you are doing and for taking the time to look at these posts and to comment.
One thought: ADHD deniers seem to have difficulty in accepting the grayscale of behavior. There is no black/white in terms of human behavior but it is, instead, a continuum with various shades of gray. Some people have a hard time with that concept.
Jeff
(On May 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 pm)
Hey Jeff,
I’m not commenting you to bug you, but because sometimes when I don’t post for a while on my blog, a random person posting a comment lets me know people are reading, and it triggers me to post again!
Anyway, just wanted to say hey, and that I dropped by both of your blogs today just to see what’s new, and I know those plants on your Chef blog have grown by now!
-Renee
(On May 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 am)
Renee, I’ve been BURIED in work. I’ll be posting about that at a later time.