ADHD Awareness Month

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Awareness Month takes place annually throughout October. The goal of the month is to raise awareness of ADHD, breakdown the stigma associated with ADHD, and highlight the available support that enable individuals to thrive. You can learn more about ADHD Awareness Month by visiting their website.

What is ADHD?

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting brain structure and neurotransmission: the way in which messages are communicated around the brain and different areas of the brain are activated. Take a look at our Disability Pages to learn more about ADHD and other neurological differences.

ADHD is thought to be caused by a complex mix of environmental and genetic factors but is a strong hereditary condition. ADHD is present from childhood, but an increasing number of adults are now being diagnosed with ADHD for the first time, having been ‘missed’ when they were younger and the condition was not as well understood as it is now.

ADHD has three core symptoms which affect people with it to different degrees:

Inattention

Difficulties with concentration, short term and working memory
Difficulties with planning and getting started (activation)
Difficulty with organisation and losing things
Easily distracted by small things which others wouldn't notice

Impulsiveness

Acting or speaking on the spur of the moment without thinking through the consequences.
Difficulty controlling emotions.

Hyperactivity

Whilst adults with ADHD are usually much less active than children with ADHD, they may still have symptoms such as restlessness and the need to tap or fidget.
Some people are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, without hyperactivity: this is particularly the case for girls and women.

Raising Awareness

In order to learn, support, and better understand people with ADHD, we must actively listen and learn from lived experiences. Read Simon’s role model profile to learn more:

Simon Kelly he/him

Senior Lecturer (Business School)

Do you identify as having a disability?

Yes. Earlier this year (at age 47) I was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

ADHD diagnoses can take three forms: 1) Predominantly inattentive; 2) Predominantly hyperactive; 3) Predominantly combined. I was diagnosed as 3) ‘combined type’ having scored high on diagnostic criteria for both inattentive and hyperactive types.

Beyond a formal diagnosis, ADHD can also mean that you are likely to experience and manage comorbidities such as executive dysfunction, anxiety, depression, addiction, rejection sensitivity dysphoria, obsessive compulsive disorder and a host of related conditions - only some of which can currently be formally diagnosed.

So when I answer a question about having a disability I would say ‘yes’ as thankfully ADHD is included as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act (2010) in the UK. However, behind this ‘yes’ response is a more complex set of overlapping experiences that are often different for each person with ADHD and cannot be easily reduced to a single set of diagnostic criteria or observable symptoms.

What is your experience of being neurodivergent at the university (or in your life more generally)?

I can only speak to my own experience of ADHD as a recently diagnosed forty-something white cis male. So while I hope that what I share here is useful for anyone reading this, it is important to recognise that ADHD and any experience of being neurodivergent is different for each person and it is not always helpful to generalise.

That said, my experience of being neurodivergent can be best expressed in a single word: OVERWHELM.

For me, all other related challenges stem from this feeling of being in a constant state of overwhelm … as if a filter has been removed and every sensory experience is flooding in at once.

On good days this can feel exhilarating (everything and everyone is fascinating!). On bad days I just feel like retreating and putting the shutters up. Most days I have some control over this and can (to a limited extent) adjust the volume on the amount of information I need to take in and process. However, this all takes effort and so by the end of the day I can feel exhausted.

Masking (learning strategies for covering up or hiding your symptoms) is another common feature of ADHD. I now realise (post diagnosis) that from an early age I learned different ways to hide many ADHD struggles to try to appear neurotypical.

Sometimes masking can work very well and allow you to fit in for short periods of time. Other times you can come across as socially awkward, inconsistent, or unpredictable when the masking doesn’t fit the situation. This – combined with the effort required to mask – can also make forming and maintaining relationships quite challenging.

There is a lot more I could say, but I think this sense of constant overwhelm, struggling to fit in, and the learned habit of masking as a coping mechanism is a good starting point for understanding my own experience of being neurodivergent.

Why is ADHD Awareness Month important to you?

As someone still learning about ADHD myself, this month provides a fantastic opportunity to talk about neurodiversity and the unique challenges that those with ADHD face. There is still so much confusion and shame attached to ADHD and this campaign provides a space in which to hold conversations with family members, friends, peers and colleagues about the many different ways that ADHD might present in people.

Most importantly it allows us to challenge some of the persistent myths about ADHD as a uniquely childhood condition that adults grow out of. This is not true, and the adult experience of ADHD can be very different and present its own lifelong challenges.

There is also a growing body of research and evidence around the different ways that gender and ADHD intersect and that there is much more to the experience than the stereotypical disruptive boy running around the classroom.

For instance, I was never disruptive or loud as a child. I didn’t have any developmental issues and I did okay at school. I never really drew much attention to myself and I just got by. However, I did have a rich imaginative world and I did find it difficult to concentrate on things that weren’t rewarding to me.

Somehow I found a way to mask this enough to avoid falling behind or getting into trouble. In other words, I got good at being invisible when I needed to be. Similarly, my expression of hyperactivity was often internalised and cognitive rather than physical.

Research is now recognising these particular expressions of ADHD in children and especially in women and girls and so support can be offered at an earlier stage of development.

ADHD Awareness Month is a great way to start these conversations, to increase awareness and knowledge, and to challenge persistent myths and gender stereotypes that can prevent children and adults from receiving the recognition and support they need.

Could you talk about the advantages and disadvantages of having ADHD?

The biggest challenges for me involve social interactions. These are often the most rewarding experiences, but they also take up the most energy as it is difficult to always know which part of the interaction to concentrate on. So, in the rush to process all the sensory information on offer when I meet someone, I will regularly find myself doing the following:

Forgetting someone’s name – even if they have just told me!
Forgetting important personal information about them that I should already know or even forgetting that we already met at some point in the past.
Fixating on a tiny detail of a conversation or the surroundings and stop listening to what somebody is actually saying.
All of the above can then lead to a sense of panic as I try to keep up with a conversation having already missed the important parts. So, I will ask basic questions to clarify or ask people to repeat points – which often throw’s the whole conversation off track!
Talking over people or not letting them finish. This can sometimes be simply because I am so excited about the topic that I can’t wait for my turn, or the feeling that I need to share something before I forget it.
This can all make turn-taking and holding ‘normal’ social interactions feel very intense, competitive, and frustrating for me and for the person I am speaking to.
All of these factors can then spiral into a sense of guilt and shame for ruining a perfectly good social interaction and making somebody else feel awkward or that they are not being listened to.
The effort and fallout from what should be ordinary everyday conversations often means that I sometimes avoid social situations, casual/corridor chats, or any situation that doesn’t have a clear purpose or structure.
This also creates a constant state of anxiety, guilt, shame, and self-berating to be processed and worked through. So, wanting to be a ‘people person’ and actually achieving this in practice are often two very different things!

It’s difficult to talk about advantages of ADHD as I don’t really know any other way of being to compare it to. However, I have found that on days or in situations where I feel comfortable then my ADHD can help me with:

Attention to detail. This might sound odd given that ADHD is about a supposed ‘deficit’ of attention. However, my experience is that this is not true. I can give people and things my full attention when I find them rewarding and, so long as this sense of reward remains, I can then hyperfocus on a task for many hours at a time.
This focus can allow me to retain a lot of information about a subject, pay attention to patterns, and explore meanings or interpretations that others might miss. However, as soon as this sense of reward disappears then so does my knowledge and interest.
Feelings of hyperactivity and impulsivity (physical/outward or cognitive/inward) also give me lots of energy to pursue the things that matter to me, but can also risk burnout and exhaustion.
So on good days with a rewarding task, I can be incredibly productive and focussed … that is, until the spell breaks and the sense of reward vanishes. This is why characterising someone who is ADHD / neurodivergent as having a superpower is not always very helpful or accurate.
Compassion and empathy: Feeling unsure in social situations, managing anxiety, and a general feeling of not fitting in has given me an appreciation of the importance of compassion and a love of difference. So, for me, being neurodivergent makes it easier to recognise and empathise with the struggles that other people face and how they might try to mask them or cover them up.

Can you talk about the misunderstandings often associated with ADHD?

Where do I start?!

There isn’t really space to cover the many daily misunderstandings that I have with other people or that they have with me. But here are some ones that regularly come up:

When I interrupt mid-conversation (or talk ‘at you’ about something you are clearly not interested in), I am not deliberately being rude. Sometimes I can’t help myself or I am just anxious to share something before I forget.
If I ask someone to repeat something, it is not because I am questioning their competence. It is just that I wasn’t concentrating and got distracted and zoned out. It might also be that I struggle with the order of the information I am receiving and need a little bit of help putting it back into an order that makes sense to me.
If we meet outside of a meeting or formal space, I might seem socially awkward or introverted (compared to perhaps my more extroverted teaching persona). It is not you, it’s me and my struggle to manage the conventions of ordinary conversation. Be patient and I will catch up with you – even if I ask some seemingly odd questions to get up to speed.
If I forget your name, it’s not personal. I have an excellent memory for faces, but I will forget someone’s name almost instantly and it is only when I have interacted with them for several days, weeks, or even months that their name will stick.

What can allies do to better support people with ADHD in the workplace?

Engage with campaigns like ADHD Awareness Month to read up on this particular expression of neurodiversity. There is a great website to support the campaign that offers lots of evidence-based information that informs and challenges popular myths and misunderstandings.
Learn more about neurodiversity and ADHD beyond the October campaign (see useful links below) to educate yourself about the many ways it is experienced and that there is no one typical type of ADHD person.

Look at the way social spaces and workplaces are organised and be sensitive to the taken-for-granted expectations or conventions that we all use, but that non-neurotypical people may struggle with. Are there changes that could be made to make these spaces, places, and structures more welcoming to neurodiverse family members, friends, and colleagues?
If someone you know (or suspect) is neurodivergent is coming across as insensitive, rude, impatient, or even domineering, then before casting judgement or confronting them, try checking in with them first to see how they are feeling. Sometimes this can diffuse any problems or misunderstandings before this interaction becomes a source of irritation or conflict – especially when communicating via email and digital platforms.

What do you want staff and students at the University to know or understand about ADHD?

ADHD is a neurological condition that you have from childhood and that you will always have to manage. It is not a made-up condition for the 21^st century digital age. In fact, there are early written accounts of ADHD dating back to 1775.
ADHD is not a lack of attention, it is about struggling to focus attention on people, tasks, or things that may not feel rewarding. Working with neurodivergent people to identify and design processes, systems and structures that avoid ableism and are sensitive to neurodivergent needs and experiences can be a great way to support people with ADHD.
Saying things like: “I think we can all be a bit like that sometimes…” might be a well-intentioned way of trying to connect with a neurodivergent person, but it can come across as minimising their experience. It is true that we might all feel overwhelmed, anxious, or forgetful at times, but for someone with ADHD these feelings are constant and without respite. So having respect and appreciation for the unique experience of that person – whether they are a family member, friend, or colleague – and listening to them talk about it might be a much stronger way to build a bridge.
ADHD can express itself very differently for different people, at different life stages, and even on different days. There are some broad experiences and expressions (like overwhelm, masking, and impulsivity) that can be useful to be aware of, but it is better to let someone share their own experience rather than trying to categorise or explain it for them.
Only a qualified psychiatrist can diagnose somebody with ADHD. It is not appropriate to try to ‘out’ somebody as neurodivergent (or to question their diagnosis) because you have read around the subject.
If you are concerned that someone close to you is showing many signs and struggles associated with ADHD – rather than raising this with them directly and risk causing offence or discomfort – you could try discretely recommending some reading materials that they might find interesting … perhaps using the excuse that you are reading up on ADHD for a friend or family member and you’re just sharing this to raise awareness.
The ADHD Awareness campaign during the month of October is another great way to start these kinds of challenging conversations - either because you suspect that you might have ADHD yourself or because you want to support others you care about.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

One issue I have found myself thinking about is the struggle that so many people have with attention in a 21^st century world saturated with social media, commercial advertising based on creating a fear of missing out (FoMO), digital algorithms that create short term dopamine hits, and living in a state of constant crisis.

For some this might explain what they see as a sudden rise in cases of ADHD. However, one important thing to remember is that if somebody you know is diagnosed with ADHD it is because they have symptoms that were present from childhood, but which have yet to be properly recognised. Being ADHD is not a choice. It is a lifelong neurological condition and not the product of the external environment or culture we live in.

Campaigns like ADHD Awareness Month provide us with a means of having a non-judgemental conversation about neurodiversity while also recognising that life for many neurotypical people (living in a world of attention-harvesting social media, competition-culture, and addictive algorithms) can also feel overwhelming and filled with anxiety, stress, and self-doubt.

Recognising this shared feeling of overwhelm (albeit for very different reasons and from very different life experiences) might offer us all a common ground from which to collectively advocate for a more neurodivergent friendly world that benefits everybody at home, at work, and across wider society.

Useful Resources:

If you want to know more about ADHD, then the following resources might be useful:

ADHD Awareness Month: https://www.adhdawarenessmonth.org

ADHD Adults UK: https://www.adhdadult.uk

Focus on Adult ADHD Magazine: https://focusmag.uk/

ADHD Foundation: https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD): https://chadd.org

ADHD in the Workplace: https://www.adhdadult.uk/adhd-in-the-workplace/

ADHD Foundation Guide for Employers:
https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/An-Employers-Guide-to-ADHD-in-the-Workplace-Scottish-ADHD-Coalition-1.pdf

Staff Disability Network

The University welcomes and supports the development of staff networks. Our staff networks provide an opportunity for staff who share a protected characteristic to network, obtain peer support and share information. They can also offer opportunities for staff to inform university policy on equality-related issues and topics. The networks are run by and for the members, with support from the University EDI Team.

The Staff Disability Network was formed in October 2018. Members come from across the University and from a variety of roles and the network is always looking for new members and ideas. Please take a look at the terms of reference and contact the Chair if you are interested in joining or would like to find out a bit more about the network, including future meeting dates.

Staff Disability Network Terms of Reference

Allison Cranmer (Chair)