Many Opportunities to Learn About ADHD This Week
by Harvey C. Parker, Ph.D.

This is a special week for those affected by ADHD. The US celebrates ADHD Awareness Week, beginning September 14th. This is an ideal time to learn more about ADHD and to share information with others.

I have been closely associated with the ADHD advocacy movement for over twenty years. In the Fall of 1986 a few parents of children with ADHD and professionals held parent advocacy meetings in a small town in South Florida. This eventually led to the formation of a national ADHD advocacy organization, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. CHADD grew with lightning speed in the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's. Parents needed information about ADHD and how to help their children. Teachers wanted tools to improve the classroom performance of those students with ADHD. And health care providers wanted to learn more about methods of diagnosis and treatment.

Despite thousands of scientific articles on ADHD having been published in medical journals throughout the US, little was know about ADHD until organizations such as CHADD and ADDA (Attention Deficit Disorder Association) and publications such as ADDitude Magazine spread information to communities through publications, local support meetings and regional and national conferences.

In the late 1980's, Frank Walkenberg was the first to write an article about adults with ADHD. Out of the Darkness, published in the New York Time Magazine, drew acclaim from many adults who for the first time read about someone else who experienced the same pain as they did from ADHD. It took a few more years for the adult ADHD "movement" to take root, but it eventually did and many adults with this condition have benefitted from the dedicated work of pioneers such as Paul Wender, Russell Barkley, Kevin Murphy, Michael Gordon, Tom Hartmann, Ned Hallowell, and John Ratey, among others, whose writings, research, presentations, and appearances in the national media literally took ADHD out of the darkness and into the light where adults with ADHD could better find their way.

We have come quite a long way since the 1980's when ADHD was misunderstood. Today there is much more awareness about ADHD than there was then. Children with ADHD can receive accommodations and special education in school if needed. Adults with ADHD can be accommodated in the workplace to help them improve their performance. We have made terrific progress in providing appropriate treatments for those with ADHD. New educational programs, psychosocial treatments, and medical interventions are being developed on a regular basis to aid those with ADHD.

While we should take some time to celebrate how far we have come in the past twenty years to improve the lives of those with ADHD, we must also realize the importance of continuing to make people aware of ADHD.

CHADD, ADDA, and ADDitude Magazine have chosen this year's ADHD Awareness Week theme, "From First Years to Golden Years: AD/HD and Life's Relationships." This week there are many events going on that will raise awareness of ADHD and educate people about this condition. Below are just a few:

• 10th Annual Experts on Call Program on September 17, 2008 featuring Celebrity Designer Ty Pennington
• Teleclasses on ADHD
• ADHD Awareness Marathon

Below are some interesting articles on ADHD and related topics:

• Clutter Could Signal a Bigger Problem Disability
• Skepticism Suddenly Disappears When You Read a List of Symptoms
• Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder Explained

Visit myADHD.com and use the follow tools this month to help children with ADHD establish household routines and to promote responsibility:

• My Daily Jobs
• My Morning Jobs List
• My Bedtime Jobs List
• Using a Home Token Economy Worksheet