My main goals for this Senior Capstone were to make people more aware of what ADHD and attentional disorders really are, to investigate how and why different individuals manage and cope with their disorders in such different ways, and address the best treatment options. Ultimately, I hoped to clarify the reality of such learning disorders as my own, investigate how and why everybody manages and copes with these issues in such different ways, and look towards how individuals with ADHD can best be helped, taught, and enabled so as to be as successful as possible.

 

The two experts in the field of ADHD that I began my research with ultimately guided and dictated the remainder of my research. Dr. David B. Stein’s book Ritalin is Not the Answer: A Drug-Free, Practical Program for Children Diagnosed with ADD or ADHD perpetuated nearly all of the stereotypes that I intended to disprove throughout the course of my research. While reading Dr. Stein’s opinions was incredibly aggravating, the points that he made helped me to create a foundation of misconceptions on which to base my research and move forward. The other expert that I identified in the earliest stage of my research, Dr. Russell A. Barkley, agreed to answer a few questions I had for him and pointed me in the direction of his articles and his books. Between Barkley’s book Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents, several of his articles, and his personal responses to my questions, I gained much knowledge and insight into the topic of ADHD. In terms of my research, Barkley’s assistance helped me to directly disprove many of Stein’s statements and allowed me to delve into the best ways to understand ADHD and therefore to treat it; however, on a personal level, Dr. Barkley helped me to understand the facts supporting the strong thoughts and convictions that I have always held about ADHD.

 

While my research has not changed my views or feelings regarding ADHD, it has strengthened my belief that something significant needs to be done to educate not only parents and family members of individuals with ADHD in addition to ADHD individuals, but also anyone that might find themselves working with these people at some time. Misconceptions, stereotypes, and misunderstandings of ADHD have not only led to incorrect and unfair assumptions about any child, or adult, with ADHD but have also caused an unimaginable number of individuals with ADHD to miss out on great opportunities and to never manage to reach their immense potential. This, among other things (such as the terribly misguided ideas being spread by Dr. Stein), has made me feel even more strongly that some large-scale action needs to be taken to address the issues of ADHD so as to ensure that everybody with ADHD can receive proper diagnosis, proper treatment, and proper support in order to enable them to live up to their full potential in life and not be held back by their condition.