The Plight of ADHD Victims: How Low Self Concept and Self Efficacy Affects those Suffering with ADHD and Why 289

I opened up my laptop and decided to check my WordPress stats. Low and behold, staring back in front of me were actual comments, from people I do not already know, laid out across the screen. I mustered up the will to read the first two or three, but had to fervidly close out the screen for fear of success. Yes, fear of Success is an actual phenomenon I have felt for as long as I can remember, but have never formally learned about in school or any other academic outlet. It does in fact exist, it is real, and as I read more about ADHD I realize I am not alone.

Studies show that children diagnosed with ADHD suffer from low levels of self concept and below average self efficacy. They tend to develop problems in social settings because they “lack the social skills to form and maintain peer relationships.” What’s more is that those suffering from ADHD exhibit “more negative emotions,” and undergo more emotive angst than their peers. This leads to higher levels of Psychopathology and Mental Illness among those suffering from the disorder. I assume it goes without saying then, that ADHD victims have lower probabilities of graduating High School and college, and fare much worse then their non-ADHD peers in the professional/general workplace.

This is something I have experienced first hand, both during my initial years in school, and in my attempts to establish and sustain a career. It has been found that individuals with a learning disability or ADHD, do not naturally develop the cognitive skills to succeed academically and professionally, but instead need to be “explicitly” taught these learning strategies in order to acquire them. Normally, those who succeed will develop the ability, during the learning process, to:

• “analyze the task at hand”
• “make connections with previous learning”
• devise a strategy to undertake the task
• and finally, “act on their plans”

During my most recent and unsuccessful employment experience, I was instructed as to how I was to realize my professional work goals, and given little guidance, other than a few anecdotal tails explaining how others succeeded at the endeavor. Shocked at the lack of training, I proceeded to accomplish my work load (because it was a sales job, my performance was evaluated by the amount of sales I closed). Suffice it to say that in three weeks time, I had not succeeded in closing so much as one sale, and I was let go.

After reviewing these findings I was able to better understand why the miniscule training had worked for others but failed to bear fruit for me. I found out, however, that there is hope. Through Cognitive Strategy Instruction, those with ADHD can learn to develop effective techniques for learning professionally and Academically. My next few blogs will go over the specific methods involved in teaching kids, adolescents and adults the mechanisms to succeed using Cognitive Strategy Training. Come and learn with me how to overcome the deficiencies characterized by ADHD, and find success in the job market, Academia and beyond.