It kindof depends on 1) what kind of ADHD it is, and 2) what the job is.
Some ADHD folks thrive in certain types of jobs.
I would have been "labled" as (mild) ADD with some ADHD.
Some teachers didn't know what to do with me, others were great with me.
Every single teacher said I showed great promise, but had difficulty applying myself.
For things I take interest in, I can get focused, where hours pass like minutes. On other stuff, my mind is blasting in 3-4 different directions within minutes.
Most of my placement test scores showed high, but classroom work was less than.
In '92, I took a psych eval, to get admission to work in a nuke plant. (everybody takes one)
Through the test, they required me to take another test.
An IQ test.
Seems I scored 126 on their test. Which they described as "highly gifted".
Explains all the teachers saying I had potential, just didn't use it.
I'm glad that the ADD/ADHD label hadn't come out when I was younger. For some, it's an excuse not to do well. For others, an extra weight to overcome.
Me...
I'm happy knowing I was and still am just a problem child :)
“Some ADHD folks thrive in certain types of jobs.”
Bill Clinton does not count.
I think of Robin Williams when the topic of ADHD comes up. What a talent!
There are pros and cons with ADD/ADHD. You have to learn to take the good with the bad.
I have ADD, and was diagnosed as an adult, along with two of my children. I thrived in the classroom where there was some structure, but I am pretty creative too.
Once I’m in the “zone”, it is hard to get me to acknowledge anything else going on. I was called The Concentrator growing up, because I was in hyperfocus as a coping mechanism for all the distractions my brain was trying to pay attention to. As a result, everything else was tuned out, and I mean everything. The room could’ve been on fire and I would’ve been unaware. People had to physically contact me for me to adjust to moving my attention once I was in hyperfocus.
For me, the diagnosis was a part of accepting who I am. I realized that everybody has positives and negatives about their personality. It’s what makes us unique.
It’s a shame that schools continue to look at ADD/ADHD only through the prism of the difficulties. It’s a life long condition. In my opinion, it’s awful that that these two teachers chose to publicly humiliate that student. That’s not a good thing for teachers to do. Teachers should be looking for ways to encourage their students, not discourage them.
Kids with ADD/ADHD need to hear that they are still good people despite this diagnosis. Yes, they have problems, but everyone has some deficiency of one sort or another.