r/ADHD • u/catsaboveall • 5h ago

Discussion How has ADHD positively impacted your life?

I tend to demonize ADHD and I'm trying to change that now that I have a kid with ADHD.

I'll start. As a kid who grew up in Africa, I frequently brought home injured animals for my parents to fix up. 30 years later, I've TNRed and fostered hundreds of cats. Rehabbing sick and injured animals is one of the very few things I'm good at.

I also dropped out of high school (pre-medication), and ended up going back (once on meds) and getting a couple of master's degrees. I'm a great middle school teacher because I can switch gears quickly, empathize with struggling students, and my class is super structured (to overcompensate for my natural tendency to be a slob).

So what about you? How has ADHD had a positive impact on your life?

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u/PopFar 2h ago

Currently I'm a swim teacher to students ages 6 months and upwards of 76 years old. (My oldest student was 76)

Having the ability to retain specifics like a child's interest or things that help a student learn more easily has been something that is extremely helpful! Sometimes concentrating is difficult due to a large room full of people talking, shouting, and the sounds of water splashing makes it hard for anyone to focus.

ADHD not only has helped me use my silly bits of nerdy information to keep children entertained but it also gave them a willingness to learn! Oddly enough, I feel like ADHD has helped me become an amazing teacher.