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Don't label me ADHD - Part 1


Don’t Label Me

Stigmatization of ADHD

“I don’t want to label my child. It’s dehumanizing. It puts limits on her. It skews how people see her. A label reduces her to a set of symptoms or misbehaviours!”

Well, yes and no.

We don’t mind certain labels. Gifted. Pretty. Advanced for his age. Team Captain. Gold Medalist. We love those labels because… well, those are good things.

So perhaps we don’t want our child or ourselves, or anyone for that matter, to be labeled as ADHD or ADD because, well, because of what we think the label means. Perhaps our resistance and resentment says more about our own view than on what others will think.

TRANSCRIPT

ADHD Labelling

I hear a lot of parents saying well people are saying he’s ADHD but we don’t want to get a diagnosis cuz we don’t want him to be labeled.
People don’t want their child to be labeled and yet all we ever do is label our children.  She’s in grade 12 he’s very good with his hands she’s getting straight A’s he’s gifted you know she’s great with animals she’s outgoing she’s in grade six at school and grade 9 in piano he’s a senior now he’s a brown belt valedictorian he’s very advanced furry he’s very visual she’s the goalkeeper was very spatial he’s class president.
I mean the moment you’re born you’re labeled oh it’s a boy no wait that’s him but look it’s a girl and then they just keep labeling you oh he’s normal wait she’s a little short she’s 6 on the 12 scale on and on and on and then they label you with a label you’re stuck with for life I christen the Richard L Green.
and here’s the thing we say we don’t want to label our kids and yet we love labeling ourselves a third of our conversation as adults is labeling ourselves starting with well I am Canadian or well I’m American or whether we are range I’m a type-a I’m a Scorpio I’m a c-cup.  Well what do you expect I’m a Sagittarius I’m a Catholic I’m a dissenting Catholic also known as a Protestant you’re either Catholic or I’m circumcised i’m super sized I’m an editor I’m a mother hope.

People are labeling themselves before they were even born you know in a previous life I was a Japanese samurai I’m a bachelor I’m a cat person I’m a dog person I’m a hamster person I’m a Texan I am an artist I’m a doctor I’m into it I’m the sensible one I’m Denny I’m a free spirit I’m a freemason I’m a free baser I’m left tackle and graduate people don’t mind labeling themselves things they think are good so people who are Democrats say I’m a Democrat and they’re proud of it when people say they don’t want their child labeled as ADHD it’s because they have a whole bunch of stories and prejudices and beliefs about what ADHD means right like I said nobody minds having their child labeled stood or top of his class or outgoing or valedictorian

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    Dr. Umesh Jain is now exclusively responsible for TotallyADD.com and its content

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