Sometimes, it seems like most ADHD supports are aimed at children with ADHD or their parents. Then, when people reach adulthood there are fewer options. Fortunately, adults with ADHD may be able to receive support through the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA.)
Founded in 1990, ADDA is an international nonprofit run by individuals with ADHD. Their aim is to reach out to other adults with ADHD and provide support through programming, education, and monthly events.
Secretary and marketing communications chair, Kylie Barron, states, “The culture of ADDA is one of celebrating and utilizing the strengths of adult ADHD as to empowering our members (and ourselves, all board members of ADDA all have ADHD) to reach their potential. ADDA offers a variety of resources for adults with ADHD.”
Some of these resources include peer support groups, where members support each other by sharing experiences; curriculum-based Work Groups, where education is provided to adults with ADHD; and ADDA Ambassadors, who answer most of the up-front questions regarding services, new diagnosis, and membership status.
As the marketing chair, Barron is responsible for overseeing all aspects of both internal and external marketing. She states, “Working with all your best friends or family members. You know that kind of easiness that comes with working next to someone who knows and understands you? That’s what it’s like working in ADDA.”
Barron has had several issues arise throughout her life due to her ADHD. “For me, having ADHD is this pattern of always unintentionally messing up, sticking your foot in your mouth, and doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, or forgetting to do so,” she states.
The weight of these recurring issues, according to Barron, can make living with ADHD lonely, as adults with it often feel that they are the only ones experiencing those problems.
And as the pandemic did for many of us, Barron noted an increased feeling of isolation and confusion amongst adults with ADHD over the last year and a half. “Adults with ADHD really struggled this past year and found ADDA to gain that support. [They,] and children too, really don’t do well with transitions, change, and lack of routine.”
In the coming months, they plan to expand further internationally. They are currently preparing for ADHD Awareness Month in October and the annual International ADHD Conference in November.
For more information on ADDA, visit their website here.