I Grew Up With ADHD – This Is The Worst Thing You Can Do To A Neurodivergent Kid |
Alex Partridge as a child (left) and now (right).
Today’s world doesn’t cater for ADHD. Children are expected to sit in a classroom all day and if they display their natural behaviour, they are branded “too much”.
In fact, it’s thought kids with ADHD could be exposed to 20,000 negative comments by the age of 10; expressions like ‘Calm down!’, ‘Stop doing that’, ‘Sit still’ and ‘Why can’t you just be normal?’.
As a child, I never felt comfortable in my own skin. After I finished watching a film, I would act like the main character for days or even weeks, until I got bored and moved on to something else.
When I did interact with people, I found myself copying their mannerisms and their tone of voice. I even pretended to share their interests and hobbies. I altered who I was in order to appear likeable to whoever I was........