5 26 20-Green

The ADHD Guide to Fighting
Stigma
How to Defend Your Diagnosis

and Build Your Self-Esteem
adhd expert webinars

ADDitudemag.com/webinar
Copyright © 2020 by ADDitude
meet today’s expert speaker:
Rick Green, M.C., OOnt, BSc

Rick Green, M.C., OOnt, BSc, was an award winning
comedy writer, producer, and director with over 700
episodes of radio and television to his credit.
After he received a diagnosis of ADHD he began a 20-
year exploration of this disorder.
In 2009 he and his wife, Ava, created the ground-breaking
program, ADD & Loving It?!, the TotallyADD.com
website, and eventually a PBS sequel, ADD & Mastering
It!, a dozen full-length programs on ADHD featuring top
experts, and over 100 short videos exploring every aspect
of ADHD.

So, today...

Defending Your Diagnosis
• People have strong opinions.
• World is polarized. My POV is right.
• We are overwhelmed with information.
• Snake oil ‘cures’ online.
• “Everyone knows... “I heard...” “They say...”

Agree to Disagree? Not These Days!

It can be so
frustrating.
It’s hard to
stay calm.

And (BLUSH) We Can Be Hyper-Sensitive

“ADHD? What a Load of Nonsense.”
People will offer all kinds of ‘facts’ to prove that you, or
you child, cannot possibly have ADHD.
“It’s all made up by big Pharma.”

“It’s just lazy-liberal-bad parents.”
“There was no such thing as ADHD when I was
her age!”
“It’s an excuse to get drugs.”

Does It Matter What Others Think?
In an ideal world, no. We, however, live on Earth.
Dismissive, nasty, know-it-alls will undermine

your self-esteem & trust in your diagnosis.
One casual, thoughtless remark can cause

someone to abandon treatment.
It hurts. It uses up energy and willpower.
The myths and misinformation live on.

“He’s a Chip Off the Old Block!”

The things • It’s those lousy doctors.
people say can • It’s bad parenting.
be infuriating!
• It’s Pharma companies.
• It’s lazy teachers.
• It’s way over-diagnosed.
• Doctors are handing out
meds like candy.

The Myths are • It’s too much sugar.
Endless and • It’s artificial sweeteners.
Insidious
• It’s video games.
• It’s the Internet.
• I blame the parents who
would rather drug their
kids than deal with them...

How do I
respond?
Strategy #1: Fight Back!
Refute, rebut, or demolish their

statement with facts. Quote
studies and statistics. Talk about
neurology. Give the history of the
disorder. Name famous folks
with ADHD.
Effectiveness: 1/10

Is there a better
way to respond? Strategy #2: Play dumb.
Expose their statements

(opinions or beliefs) by asking
questions.
Simple, naïve questions.
““ADHD is way over-
diagnosed? Really?! By how
much?”
Effectiveness: 4/10

But I don’t want to
humiliate them. Strategy #3: Seek a bit of
clarification...
Ask them to explain a

conundrum you have, based
on something you know.
“What about DRD4.7?”
Effectiveness: 7/10

Can I be more
inclusive? Less Strategy #4: Concede a
confrontational? point that may be true
“Yes. Some fake ADHD to try
to get an advantage, but the
vast majority of students
don’t...”
Effectiveness: 8/10

What’s your
best strategy? Strategy #5: Been there,
done that!
Agree that this is indeed a very
popular misconception, one
you actually believed too.
“Yes! That’s exactly what I

thought. Then I found out...”
Effectiveness: 9/10

I am not sure I Strategy #6: Say nothing.
can do this...
Effectiveness: 10/10

Give folks time to process the idea.
People are slow to change.

Remember, not everyone is trying to
hurt or humiliate you.
There are a lot of scary sounding myths
and real abuse of medications.
They may actually be deeply concerned

about your welfare, or that of your child.

The most adamantly opposed may become
your staunchest ally. Leave the door open.

A Modest Suggestion: REHEARSE YOUR RESPONSE

Another Modest Suggestion: Be Prepared!

Another Modest Suggestion:
Ask them to read an article, watch a video,

skim a symptom checklist, and ask...
“Does this sound like me?”

Please enter your questions in
the box to your left.
Please note: Live webinar attendance and all questions submitted via GoToWebcast are
confidential. None of today's webinar attendees can see the names of other attendees, nor can
they see the questions submitted via GoToWebcast. Usernames are associated with questions
posted in the ADDitude forums.
ADDitude does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The material in this webinar
is provided for educational purposes only. Copyright © 2020 by New Hope Media. All rights
reserved.

Upcoming Webinars
• Tuesday, June 2 at 1pm ET
Sleep Solutions for the ADHD Brain with Mark Stein, Ph.D.
https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/sleep-disorder-adhd/
• Monday, June 8 at 1pm ET
Learning, Fun, Free Time: How to Balance and Structure the Lazy, Crazy Days of
Summer for Children with ADHD with Ann Dolin, M.Ed.
https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/summer-schedule-for-children/
Visit http://additu.de/webinars to view the webinar replay library.

Thank You!
If you missed any part of today’s webinar, a recording is available for replay at
http://additu.de/webinars.
To continue the conversation, we invite you to join us on
ADDitude Forums
ADDitude’s online community for attention deficit support and solutions where you can join
our ongoing ADHD discussion groups: https://www.additudemag.com/forums/


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The ADHD Guide to Fighting

How to Defend Your Diagnosis

adhd expert webinars

Rick Green, M.C., OOnt, BSc

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

“It’s all made up by big Pharma.”

adhd expert webinars

Dismissive, nasty, know-it-alls will undermine

One casual, thoughtless remark can cause

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

Refute, rebut, or demolish their

adhd expert webinars

Expose their statements

adhd expert webinars

Ask them to explain a

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

“Yes! That’s exactly what I

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

They may actually be deeply concerned

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

Ask them to read an article, watch a video,

“Does this sound like me?”

adhd expert webinars

adhd expert webinars

Visit http://additu.de/webinars to view the webinar replay library.

adhd expert webinars

To continue the conversation, we invite you to join us on

adhd expert webinars

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