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Will you pay #AttentionUK ?

Will you pay #AttentionUK ?

  • What is #AttentionUK?
    • The problem explained
    • Support in the UK
      • Services in the UK
    • How this affects you
    • Our goals
    • Help us
  • Understanding ADHD
    • Frequently asked questions about ADHD
    • Understanding ADHD Stigma
    • Does ADHD make people bad?
    • ADHD and Free Will
  • ADHD at University
    • University support for students with ADHD
    • London University ADHD Support List
    • Recommended Reasonable Adjustments
  • Resources
    • The ADHD Brain
    • NHS Videos
    • Papers and Reports
      • Born to be ADHD
      • ‘Your Attention Please’ – the DEMOS report
  • Media Guidelines
  • Everything Else
    • References
    • Privacy policy
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    • Contact Us

Does ADHD make people bad?

A lot of this website talks about the mess that people with ADHD often find themselves in when there are a lot of demands on them that don’t suit the ADHD brain. So we want to emphasise that having ADHD does not mean that someone is, or will be, a bad person. And that in fact, ADHD usually comes with lots of skills and character traits that other people would wish to have, and make them very good people. In some situations, ADHD can be extremely useful, and when that happens it’s kind of a superpower. 

People with ADHD are wired differently to most people which it means it’s hard to be like everyone else. But that’s only a bad thing in situations where the only option is to be like everyone else. There’s actually a lot of positive things about ADHD that make people with ADHD really special. For example, people with ADHD tend to be great problem-solvers. They enter a crisis that has everyone else stumped, panicking or defeated and can see a solution straight away. They are kind, warm and genuine people with a sense of humour. They have what Paul Wender called “relentless determination.” When they get hooked on a challenge they don’t stop trying new ways to approach it until they’ve mastered it, but will often lose interest entirely when it’s not a challenge any more.

What this means is that in some situations, people with ADHD can really struggle, but in other situations where people with ADHD can excel, they really stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately a lot of situations, like school, tax, employment regulations, and so on, involve rules that have not been made with the needs of someone with ADHD in mind, which makes functioning as an adult pretty difficult when you have ADHD. But if you can get into a situation where you get to make your own rules, people with ADHD often really thrive. For example, ADHD has been labelled as “the entrepreneur’s superpower”, because individuals with ADHD possess innate energy, grit, creativity, originality, insight and interpersonal skills, which are arguably some of the key ingredients of entrepreneurship.

People with ADHD are often also really good at supporting other people. They’re sympathetic, understand, rarely judge people and are quick to forgive (or maybe forget) because they’ve been stigmatised their whole life, been in a lot of sticky spots, and know how easy it is to do something without thinking or having any prior intention to do it. As John Haltiwanger has written, people with ADHD know that having a mental disorder does not mean that there is something wrong with a person.

“They understand that our brains are exceptionally powerful entities, and difficult to control at times. Indeed, people with ADHD are understanding, kind and caring because they know what it’s like to be ostracised for something that’s as natural as breathing. This kind of emotional intelligence is invaluable, in all walks of life.”

People with ADHD in all sorts of different skills / career paths who are famous for their success include:

  • Michael Phelps, The Most Decorated Olympian Of All Time
  • Simone Biles, already the most decorated American gymnast of all time, winning 19 Olympic and World Championship medals when she was only 19 years old.
  • Justin Timberlake, Singer/Actor/Producer/Businessman
  • Jim Carrey, Actor/Comedian/Producer
  • Will Smith, Actor/Producer/Rapper
  • Sir Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Group)
  • Ingvar Kamprad (founder of IKEA)
  • …and so on

For more information about this, and original sources, take a look at:

  • https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-in-adults-nervous-system/
  • https://www.additudemag.com/secrets-of-the-adhd-brain/
  • https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/252231
  • or to find out about more successful people with ADHD, just google ‘ADHD success’.

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What is #AttentionUK?

#AttentionUK is a campaign about one of the few mental health disorders that hasn’t become less stigmatised in the UK over the last decade. That disorder is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, better known as ADHD.

ADULTS WITH UNTREATED ADHD ARE:

7 times more likely than their peers to have had multiple vehicle crashes

twice as likely to be fired from a job

9 times more likely to end up in prison

THAN PEOPLE WITHOUT THE DISORDER.
40% OF THE UK PRISON POPULATION HAVE UNTREATED ADHD.
ADHD IS THE SECOND GREATEST PREDICTOR OF TOTAL OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR BEHIND HEROIN USE.

ADHD IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS IN THE WORLD.

So why doesn’t it get discussed?

Find out more

  • What’s the campaign about?
  • Why should I care about this?
  • What are the campaign goals?
  • What is ADHD?
  • How might it feel to have untreated ADHD?
  • Does ADHD make people bad?
  • What support is there for people with ADHD in the UK?
  • How can I support the campaign?
  • How do I contact the people behind this campaign?
  • Show me the evidence! (References)

Gallery

Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
Understanding ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
Understanding ADHD
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
"Managing" ADHD
“Managing” ADHD
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
Tackling stigma
Tackling stigma
Misdiagnosis of ADHD
Misdiagnosis of ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
9c_3b109c5c1af5230c833cbdb268faf701--mental-health-counseling-emotional-regulation
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
Life with ADHD
Life with ADHD
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
ADHD described
ADHD described
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
Misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis
Misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis
Neurodiversity
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
No wonder we're all so insecure
No wonder we’re all so insecure
How does ADHD feel?
How does ADHD feel?
ADHD through the lifespan
ADHD through the lifespan

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