It’s the age-old philosophy question:  If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?  Every parent and educator troubles over whether or not to acknowledge an issue or ignore it and move on as if it doesn’t exist.  I myself can think of instances where knowing a diagnosis helped me better work with the student, and instances of ignoring the deficit and reaching success.  This last weekend, the shoe was on the other foot, though.

   I’ve always known I was a little hyper.  I got spanked for talking too much in school, and no one wanted to sit on my pew in church because my bouncing leg made the whole pew shake. But, when parents mention that their child is ADHD, my standard answer is, “Well, maybe. Or maybe they’re just bored.  We’ll see.  I mean, I’m pretty hyper, and I’m not ADHD.”

   I don’t have any clinical diagnosis, but I came as close to the label this weekend as one can without an appointment.  When parents suspect ADHD in their kids, we usually tell them to try the caffeine test first. We tell them to give their child coffee or Mountain Dew or the such to see what kind of effect it has on him.  If he’s bouncing off the wall, he’s probably not ADHD.  If the caffeine calms him down, however, the parent should definitely get the child seen, as caffeine has an opposite effect on those with ADHD. 

  It was the day of the eclipse, and my students and I were rushing away from our viewing site in a mad dash back to Oklahoma so we could attend school the next day.  We were rushing for all of 16 miles.  Then we hit all the other viewers rushing back to their houses.  Two miles took us 45 minutes!  I made a gas stop, and decided I better grab a 5-Hour Energy to help me stay awake while driving the bus.  I’d never had one before, but I know many who swear by them.  Oh my goodness!  I almost fell asleep!  It knocked me on my tail.  I had to pull the bus over and walk around it a couple of times.  Then I just kept eating till it wore off, a process that took about thirty minutes total. 

  If I believe that the caffeine test is accurate, then I am most likely ADHD!  As I shared my story with people, I was dismayed to hear the shock that I didn’t already know I was ADHD.  Evidently, it was obvious to everyone else that I was AHDH. 

   But I couldn’t be ADHD because I was an honor roll student.  In fact, I made my first B in 11th grade.  A parent with similar symptoms shared with me that she was diagnosed, but her doctor said that she just didn’t have the deficit.  Oh, okay.  I’ll accept the label if there’s acknowledgment that I am high-functioning!  I also love that my Diet Coke can now be called “medicine!”

  So, the question now is:  if a child is ADHD but is never diagnosed or treated as ADHD, is there a deficit?

  I know it’s not as clear cut as that, but I do find it a very intriguing.  Does my hyperactivity have a different name since I don’t seem to have a deficit in attention?  One of my teachers says that I am like the circus guy who spins plates; I jump from activity to activity, always keeping the plates spinning, but not necessarily in any pattern.   If anything, my attention can stay on several things at the same time. In my job, this is an asset.  I can walk down a hall to do one thing and be tasked with six more things on the way.  I will usually do all six.

   Maybe a better question would be:  If a person is diagnosed with a disorder, is it really a disorder, or is it just a different way of interacting with one’s world? 

   The subject for the week is acknowledgment, though, so let me address that.  Acknowledging is not excusing.  It is good to give an issue a name, but it is wrong to let that acknowledgment dictate what a person can or cannot do.  I have had many students who, having been diagnosed with everything from ADHD to Asperger’s, graduate and become fantastic members of society.  In every case, parental support was the key factor.  Parents who had set a standard beyond what they were told their child could do, and then genuinely helped their children reach small goals toward that broader goal created strong young adults.   No, these adults don’t think and act just like everybody else does, and that alone is a plus for society as a whole.

-          Michelle