If you want to support awareness don't just call random characters ADHD that are not confirmed to have it. I have friends who suffer from it and this is not the way to make people aware if what they're going through!
Listen dude
I have ADHD too.
This blog isn’t exactly about awareness. It’s more about representation. I mean, unlike many other common mental illnesses, ADHD is practically invisible. It’s mentioned in one-off jokes, or single episodes of TV shows. The only canon and repeated reference to ADHD I’ve found in media is in the Percy Jackson series/universe. And while that is absolutely fantastic (believe me, I own every one of Rick Riordan’s books, and I’ve read them dozens of times over), that’s simply not enough.
Not only that, the minimal representation people like us do get is either skewed to young adults/teens/kids, or fits a very particular stereotype. Even when I see ADHD people in canon media, they’re not representing me. I’m 19, I’m a girl, and I have inattentive type. Can you name five characters who are girls and canonically have ADHD? Because I can’t. Can you name five characters who canonically have ADHD and aren’t the “quirky, fun, omg-it’s-a-SQUIRREL, lol-so-random, can’t-sit-still” stereotype? Can you name five characters where the ADHD isn’t discussed in a single episode and then forgotten about? Where it’s an issue?
I could look to fandom, but even there ADHD is passed over for more “conventional” mental illnesses and disorders. I’m not saying they’re wrong or bad for doing so, or making those headcanons, but goddamn does it hurt when in a fandom with one canonically ADHD character and several ADHD coded characters, with 4959 fanfictions, only 14 are tagged ADHD.
And don’t get me started on how only the “dumb” characters get headcanoned as ADHD.
ADHD is invisible, besides one off mentions that are never talked about again. And so, as an ADHD person, I went “You know what? Fuck that. They’re all ADHD now.” Because if I want representation, I have to try and make my own.
And if a bunch of people see stuff like this and it makes them happy, then that’s only a boon.
So sorry, anon. I understand that this may not be the best way to bring awareness to these issues, but if this is the way I can show more people how ADHD can manifest in different ways, maybe they’ll start asking questions and learning for themselves.
~Mod Kate
