After a child/adolescent receives a diagnosis of ADHD, the question always comes up of whether or not it is a good idea for the child/adolescent to tell his friends that he has ADHD. Oftentimes, kids are arguably fickle regarding their friendships. Therefore, one day, your child might tell a friend that he has ADHD, and then, all of a sudden, the next day, the children may not be friends, which might result in him telling everyone that your son has ADHD.
I do not mean to be hyper-sensitive to whom your child tells that he has ADHD, but I do think that it is a good idea to be cautious. Telling someone that you have been diagnosed with a certain disorder involves a certain amount of trust that they will not share what you are telling them with others. This is especially important regarding ADHD, because many people do not understand the derivation and the meaning of it. Therefore, they might look upon ADHD, for example, as some sort of disease. Seriously……That misperception may lead to the child being teased or bullied. Hopefully, instead, the child’s peers might say, “So that is why Eric is king of fidgety sometimes. Oh, that’s cool. Now I get it.”
I asked a 15 year old yesterday whether or not he has told his peers that he had ADHD. He said that he has told just a few friends, because “If you tell good friends, they won’t care. Having ADHD doesn’t change who you are.”
A very insightful comment, but what do you think? Who and why should a child/adolescent tell his friends that he has ADHD?
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