Transcriber: Qiuyuan Huang Reviewer: David DeRuwe
ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
When you hear this term, you might think of some images like this:
Or maybe some other ones like this:
And that’s a picture of me during quarantine,
but I’m here to tell you that ADHD is much more than certain behaviors.
It’s about living life as a neurodivergent person in a world built for neurotypicals.
Neurotypical people are those who align
with the cognitive standards and norms of our society,
such as understanding common body languages,
being able to follow a certain routine,
and fitting into systems, such as our education system.
Neurodivergent people, on the other hand,
are those who don’t align with these standards and norms,
and we struggle because of this in our everyday life.
A lot of the misconceptions around ADHD come from the term itself:
attention deficit.
One of the most misunderstood things about people with ADHD
is that they can’t focus on anything or can’t focus on something for too long.
But this is not necessarily the case.
Instead of being called attention deficit, it should be called attention redirected.
Calling ADHD an attention deficit disorder comes from a neurotypical perspective.
Here’s what I mean.
Let’s say you’re in a classroom,
and you see a student that’s focusing on the professor
and doesn’t pay attention to their surroundings.
Would you say they’re attention deficit
because they don’t notice things in their classroom,
or would you say they’re a great focused student?
Now let’s say you’re in the same classroom,
and you notice a clicking pen right beside you,
and as you move your head,
you notice a bright red shoe across the room tapping against the floor.
Now that you focus in on both sounds at the same time,
you notice they’re on the same beat.
Now you, who are twirling your pencil,
try to match it to the exact same beat as both those sounds.
Now you, who are focusing in on two sounds at once and matching your own fidgeting
to these sounds and basically assembling your own orchestra,
are the one displaying attention deficit.
And you get this label
not because you can’t focus on one thing or multiple things at once,
but because you're focusing on a task that is more intriguing to you,
but not the task that you’re expected to focus on.
Another word in this term - disorder.
Disorder is a condition that disturbs normal functioning of the body or mind.
But what is normal functioning?
People with ADHD are considered having a disorder
because we don’t match the expectations and standards of our society.
But I believe instead of considering neurodivergent as a disorder,
we need to question whether the norms in place
are actually benefiting all of us.
Let’s take my hyperactive, impulsive tendencies, for example.
I came up with the idea for this TED Talk during my biochemistry midterm.
Yes, I had many questions left on that test,
but I just couldn’t stop the ideas flowing through my brain - so I didn’t.
Instead of writing my midterm, I decided to sit and plot out my TED Talk.
I had all the ideas planned out in my head,
and I left that exam with a full TED Talk planned.
Others believe I let myself get distracted and just gave in to my impulsivity.
I, however, was quite proud of my outcome.
I let my brain do what it does best.
I, of course, did not do well on that exam at all,
but nonetheless, I left with something that I’m proud of.
Embracing my neurodivergence
caused me to fail at tasks that our society deems essential.
But imagine a world where we’re not restricted
by time and space to express our creativity.
Not only neurodivergent minds,
but all of us will be able to live to our fullest potential.
Maybe it’ll look something like this:
When a high-schooler has a question that’s out of the scope of the lesson,
they’re given time and space and resources
to fulfill their curiosity without facing any consequences.
When a 12-year-old notices a bird chirping out the door,
he’s given time to let his body respond to the sounds of nature,
instead of being told to focus in.
A five-year-old who just starts going to school
is told that the way she wants to doodle, speak, run around,
listen to her body and mind out of turn doesn’t make her a disobedient student;
it actually makes her a unique individual who will strive and create an imprint
on this world.
Another thing we can learn from are the attention deficit behaviors.
According to a recent study done in UK, attention deficit behaviors
are the most commonly criticized behaviors of people with ADHD,
and I've definitely been subject to those criticisms.
My worst enemies are deadlines.
Even when it came for this TED talk,
I missed every single deadline given to me,
but somehow I finished it, and here I am.
But this is not necessarily the case for most of my university experience.
I schedule. I put all my deadlines into my calendar.
I put reminders the week before, three days, two days, the day of,
and still, that wasn’t enough.
And I see classmates just write down the day of their test on the calendar
and do great on their tests - and I just didn’t understand why.
My friends, family, strangers, and even professors ask me,
“Why do you procrastinate so much? You should’ve just started this earlier.”
But I work every single day my mind and body permits me to.
Then they say, “Well, that’s the problem. You’re just working too much.
You need to take breaks more often.”
But I do take breaks and do things
that genuinely fulfill my heart other than school.
Then they say,
“Well, maybe you’re just taking on too much. Just drop a few classes.”
But I need to take this course load to get the degree and pursue my career.
Then they say, “Well, maybe this career just isn’t meant for you.”
And within minutes, my dream is stripped away from me.
When I graduated high school as valedictorian,
everybody told me I was meant to be on this path.
Just two years into university,
and I’m already being questioned on whether this is the path for me,
changing every single thing about myself every single day
and still not being enough.
My brain’s still not meeting the standards that it needs to meet.
If people with ADHD have to change so much about themselves every day,
why can't we as a society change our standards
so that it can better serve us all?
I’m tired. I’m tired of taking meds every single day,
tired of suppressing my uniqueness,
tired of hearing that I need to stand out in this world,
but being told that I need to stand out in a way that benefits others.
One of the most common phrases I hear is:
“You’re so smart, yet so dumb at the same time.”
I never really thought about this much,
but now that I think about it, they’re right.
I’m not smart or great at paying attention in conversations,
I can’t direct you when I’m five minutes away from my house,
and even now, I don’t know where I left my phone before this.
But I don’t see why I need to be smart or great
at tasks that our society deems essential.
Our society is exclusive, stunts the potential of me and many others.
I think I forgot to introduce myself before this.
I’m Rovena, and I hope I was able to keep your attention for the past 10 minutes.
(Applause)