Adults with ADHD may be able to receive support through the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA).
Founded in 1990, ADDA is an international 501(c)(3) organization run by individuals with ADHD who reach out to other adults with the same condition and provide support through programming, education, and monthly events.
“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,” secretary and marketing communications chair Kylie Barron said. “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.
“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?” Barron said. “That’s what it’s like working in ADDA.”
Barron has faced several challenges 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 said.
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.
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 [them], and children, too, really don’t do well with transitions, change, and lack of routine.”
In the coming months, ADDA plans to expand further internationally. The organization is 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.