Reply To: Petition to ADHD housing (sound proof) USA

[Shadow Nexus]

Update 11/11/2015

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Most people say Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder think it’s not real or fail to understand the magnitude of it. “You grow out of it.” or “Try harder” they say. Would you say that to someone in wheelchair or blind? You wouldn’t know someone had seizures unless they had one right in front of you. If you have depression or bi-polar disorder, no one will know unless you tell them. ADHD one of many hidden disabilities. Things that most people take for granted we can’t do.

 
For most, sounds fade into the background with one foreground, being able to listen to one voice in a crowded room. When someone with ADHD hears this, they think, “You can do that?” Being ADHD, I have a completely different experience. You heard every person in the room talking at once. You can focus on that one voice for a few seconds at time and that takes a massive effort. It’s doesn’t take long before your exhausted and your dizzy from sensory overload. You must leave the area. Imagine hearing every sound in an area all the time. Very rarely can you shut out noise and only for a short time. Use noise canceling headphones, they are worthless and totally ineffective. Even if they were, you would need to wear them all the time which is impractical.

 

Heavy base music makes you physically sick, hands shaking and nauseous. If it’s too loud, you leave the area or hold out for short time then leave. My tolerance loud music doesn’t increase, it goes down over time. What an ADHD person considers loud music, is nothing like “normal” people, much lower level. We are sound sensitive. Buildings that have “quiet hours” are uninhabitable outside quiet hours. This is not PC to say, but i’m going to say it anyway. Children scream, thump around, and overall are massive sound problem. This will be a childfree community, no one under the age of 21 allowed. We need a community that must be 24/7 quiet, no loud music or heavy bass ever.

 
Being able to out sound into the background is an ability is hardwired in non-ADHD and genetically missing in ADHD. For me, there is no such thing as background noise, only foreground. I don’t get used to noise. I can only tolerate it for so long. I need regular periods of dead silence. My two housing experiences were noise hells. Uninhabitable outside “quiet hours”, quiet hours is still noisy. Relentless thumping of people moving around. Section 8 government housing is a joke. It’s nearly impossible to find decent non-microscopic safe housing, let alone quiet housing.

 
I must draw a line in the sand. Not one more time. For me and many other ADHD persons, it is required for a government build enforced 24/7 quiet affordable living environment and/or community. At the minimum, units that are physically separated, single level, and built from the ground up to be sound proof, . The community is designed for noise sensitive or ADHD people. The community surrounded by base and sound proof high walls with a sound-lock (keeps from having noise come in every time gate opens). Community charter reads, “You can read any time day or night, inside or outside, and never worry about loud music, heavy base, and other loud noise.” The community enforces it with doubling fines and/or eviction for violation of local noise pollution laws.

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The rest is more of a rant, but I could use it as way to get people’s attention to the lack of ADHD housing. Since, no one commented on the essay. I’ll assume it’s good. Please comment on what of the rest here I can use. The petition is long already. I know.

 

NCR was a noise hell(Fall 1998 to Spring 2001, plus 2 months sleeping on couch). I must complained to the “RA’s” (fake managers), get free rent in exchange for ignore peoples noise complaints, I must have complained 100+ times. One person was maybe was evicted in 3 years. I had to spend increasing amounts of time away from it over time. From just afternoons during the week, to all day and night all week long at the college, watching TV and doing homework only there. About Fall 2000, I found someone who I paid to sleep on their couch while still paying rent on the place that most of the time uninhabitable, living their full time for two months after graduation until I ran out of money and had to move back in with mother in Sept 2001. Mind you, in constant state of hunger all that time. Tried to find a pro-bono lawyer (Free), lot of “We don’t take those kind of cases.” We won’t help the little guy against a sleazy corporation. I wasn’t aware of “forced arbitration clauses.” So, I likely signed one.

I couldn’t get any work. Gave up searching and applied for disability and got it on the first try. I got my first payment and block payment around July 2007. Moved out into another noise hell around Sept 2008. THE SAME %@#& HAPPENED AGAIN! After going through 5&1/2 years of noise hell and mostly uninhabitable, I went from 7 full days down to 10 mins per day to pick up clothes only. I had enough and moved out on July 29, 2014. Did I mention in constant state of hunger again because of the high rent.
Office says to me, “Your entitled to the quiet enjoyment of the apartment.” I made relentless calls about blasting stereos and finally many calls to the police. Saying, “It’s not our problem.” This time I didn’t bother with lawyer. What’s the point? Same problem. A sleazy corporation got away with it AGAIN!

 

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