1. Soaring Above Stigmas
Jennifer Oppor, Erin Bosman, Jordan Koski, Emily Johnson, Ethan Kilgore, Micaela Haupert, April Westrum
2. Link to Poll:
1. What percentage of people do you think have ADHD?
2. What percentage of people with a learning disorder also have ADHD?
3. Is ADHD genetic?
4. Do you think it is fair that people with learning disabilities/ADHD get accommodations, such as extra times on exams?
5. Do you, or someone you know, have a learning disability or ADHD?
6. ADHD is considered a learning disability.
7. Men are more likely to have ADHD than women.
8. Intake of excessive sugar can cause ADHD.
9. Many people with ADHD struggle with short-term memory.
10. What time in a person's life is ADHD most evident?
11. About what percentage of people with ADHD also have a co-existing anxiety disorder?
4. Facts:
11% of people have ADHD.
Fifty percent of children and adolescents with ADHD also have some type of learning disability.
A child with ADHD is four times as likely to have had a relative who was also diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.
ADHD and Learning disability are two separate entities that can coexist in a child.
Men are almost 3 times more likely to have ADHD than women.
Intake of excessive sugar does NOT cause ADHD but it can make symptoms worse.
Many people with ADHD struggle with short-term memory.
ADHD is most evident in a person's life as a teens, when more responsibility and self-management is required.
5. Questions:
Were you surprised by any of these facts? Which ones and why?
Do you, or someone you know, have a learning disability and/or ADHD? If so,
how do you think having an LD or ADHD has affected you or them?
7. Are Accommodations Fair?
A disability inherently can put a student at a disadvantage in comparison to the other students in your class. An
accommodation for the particular limitations of a disability is meant to minimize this disadvantage and to "even out
the playing ground" - or to provide an equitable environment for the student with the disability. Therefore, it can
be considered UNFAIR to the disabled student to NOT provide an accommodation.
No two students are alike. Therefore, the need to treat them as if they were all the same, or equal, is an
inequitable and unjust expectation. In addition, research indicates that accommodations such as extra time
on exams does not benefit the student without a disability while it significantly improves test scores of
students with disabilities (time constraints may actually test students' limitations rather than their knowledge).
http://rds.colostate.edu/fairness-and-consequences
9. The Eye to Eye Organization
Eye to Eye's mission is to improve the life of every person with a learning disability. We fulfill our mission by supporting and
growing a network of youth mentoring programs run by and for those with learning differences, and by organizing advocates
to support the full inclusion of people with learning disabilities and ADHD in all aspects of society
Our vision is simple yet bold: to create a world in which people with LD / ADHD are fully accepted, valued, and respected --
not just by society, but also by themselves -- and that they live free from second thoughts or worry, ready, able, and eager
to apply their unique strengths to whatever they encounter in life
http://www.eyetoeyenational.org
11. Paper Planes Art Project
FINDING FREEDOM AND CREATIVITY IN THE ART ROOM
Unlike other subjects in school with rules or expected outcomes, art has no rules and removes barriers to learning. You can
use art however you choose to express your unique way of thinking. In the context of a mentoring relationship, art is the
starting point where mentors and mentees can talk about LD / ADHD, reducing anxiety and vulnerability for many mentees.
14. Myths / Stigmas
There’s nothing wrong; they’re just lazy
People with ADHD/ LD are less intelligent
The Parents Did Something Wrong
ADHD is Not a Real Disorder
ADHD is Over-Diagnosed/ Over-Medicated
15. How to Soar Above Stigmas:
Learn more about LD/ ADHD
Listen to people who have experienced LD/ ADHD
Talk openly about LD/ ADHD
Support LD/ ADHD accommodations
Speak up about stigmas
Provide support for organizations that fight stigma
