There are several things that neurotypicals say when we tell them we have ADHD, or they know we have it. Somethings aren’t always easy for us to hear, or accurate, or the best thing to say to someone with ADHD.
One of them is ‘We’re all a little ADHD sometimes.’ This is something many of us with ADHD have heard at one point or another. Myself included.
Now I know that this may just be an innocent comment. Everyone on Earth has forgotten something, lost phones or keys, been late to a meeting or class, and such. It’s normal and we’re only human. This does happen to everyone once in a while. I fully admit that these things do and can happen to everyone.
However, for those of us with ADHD, these things happen more than just sometimes. We struggle with these things EVERY DAY. And not by choice. So, although it may be said to ‘normalize’ these struggles and may not be meant to be harmful, it is hard to hear, hurtful, and feels as though our struggles are being dismissed. And no, we’re not all a little ADHD sometimes. It is a neurological disorder that not everyone has.
All the things that neurotypicals experience once in a while is totally different from how we experience them as individuals with ADHD. All these things that happen once in a while for neurotypicals are daily struggles for those with ADHD.
I’m not trying to diminish the experiences we go through as humans. We all struggle with something. It’s part of being human. Life isn’t easy. For anyone.
All I would like to say is that these are just some things that go through our minds and things we feel, when neurotypicals say things like ‘We’re all a little ADHD sometimes.’
1 Comment
Great post.