Kyle Allison
March 17, 2013 Instructor Duck
English 101
Victimization of Adolescents with ADD When I was little, every single teacher-parent conference went something like this: Your son is a very capable and smart student but he has a difficult time sitting still and paying attention in class. Instead of my teachers’ trying to find the source of my behavioral issues, they just came up with solutions, like putting me in the corner of the room, that would just segregate me from the rest of my peers. Finally, in sixth grade I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and was prescribed medicine to help me concentrate. Although my grades improved substantially, there were still issues that arose associated with my disorder that affected me socially and academically. My sophomore year in high school my grades started to slip and my behavior started to become erratic. One day I got into an altercation with someone, and when things escalated I punched a wall and broke my hand in two places, requiring surgery, and ending my upcoming wrestling season before it even began. This was the last straw for my parents as they were becoming increasingly concerned with my behavior and well being, and we agreed that I should start seeing a therapist twice a week. If it were not for therapy I would not have known that my impulsive behavior was a symptom of ADD, nor would I have learned how to control it. My constant struggle with ADD is common with millions of other kids in America. Furthermore, if parents and teachers gain a better understanding of this disorder, a plethora of conflicts would be diminished. With this being said, a lack of education in society about Attention Deficit Disorder has caused uncalled for social stigma, a poor environment in the classroom and household, and a misconception that medication is the solution to all problems. Since ADD is considered a disability, it is grouped with the rest of the mental illnesses through society’s eyes; because of this, I instantly had a disadvantage socially and academically in high school. The social stigma that surrounds ADD causes many unnecessary problems for students suffering from this disorder. Having ADD put a label on me in school which put me at a disadvantage from the start because teachers’ first impressions of me was that I have a learning disability. As a result, teachers would look down on me and talk to me like I was a little kid, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I would have to work my way up from the bottom to gain the respect of my teachers. Moreover, because I had extra time to take exams and submit homework, students automatically thought I was unintelligent. I would get laughed at and made fun of because they thought I was stupid. These situations are a part of many students’ lives, and only exist because ADD is misunderstood. In order to break social stigma people need to first learn what ADD is. According to The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary, Attention Deficit Disorder is “a syndrome, usually diagnosed in childhood, characterized by a persistent pattern of impulsiveness, a short attention span, and sometimes hyperactivity, and interfering especially with academic, occupational, and social performance.” While this gives a general understanding of what ADD is, the disorder is much more complicated then that. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), is a book written by psychologists that helps diagnose people based on criteria. On the back of this paper, is the entire page from the DSM that is dedicated to classifying ADD, If you are interested in learning more. Basically ADD is broken into the subcategories: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Combined Type, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Inattentive Type. Furthermore, there are different levels of severity of ADD and people can have a