My 7yo nephew was over today and he has ADHD and he said sort of offhandedly “I have ADHD and it means I’m bad” and it fucking shattered my heart so I sat him down and was like “no it doesn’t, you’re not bad, you’re just different and that’s okay. Think of it like having a special ability” and I listed off some of his hyperfixations and told him about how smart he was about those topics but Jesus Christ I just wanted to burst into tears
Who did this? Who made him--who put that bullshit in his head? Point me to them. I'm angry. I'm so angry.
I self-harmed for years becauseI thought I was worthless and stupid and an error and a thing to be revolted against because I thoughtI was a freak for being different.
I want to know who did this. I want them to know just how much pain they cause.
Honestly? His teachers. I see a lot of comments on this post blaming his parents but they’re not the issue. My brother in law, his dad, also has ADHD and tries really hard to instill in him that ADHD isn’t some cursed thing that makes you a bad person. But my nephew is constantly labeled a ‘problem child’ in school because of his ADHD. I don’t think his dad gets through to him enough because my nephew has this thought of “oh it’s just my dad saying that I’m not a problem because he has to, he’s my dad” and so he needs to hear it from outside sources that he isn’t bad because he has ADHD, and that his brain works differently than other students’
