“It feels like I am juggling three balls, someone is throwing a basketball at me, another person is asking me to run a mile, and I want to drop all of it because I don’t know what to do first. Then in the middle of this, I get stuck on an object in the background—noticing something no one else notices.”

This is how one person describes her ADHD. Most people with ADHD can identify with this description in one form or another. 

ADHD is a brain-based disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate impulsivity, inattention, and in some cases, hyperactivity. It affects children, teens, and adults. ADHD does not discriminate by race or sexual orientation and is not gender-specific. ADHD affects the way a child learns in school. It even takes a toll on the other children in the classroom. ADHD makes it difficult to maintain healthy relationships with spouses, co-workers, or friends. ADHD can cause someone to have low self-esteem, feel excluded in groups, and disrupts both professional and personal lives. 

Simply, ADHD is real. Nearly 15 million people in the US have ADHD. As this number increases, the need for factual information also increases:

•   Schools need information on ADHD to better assist children with the disorder and help them succeed beyond ADHD.
•   Parents need information on ADHD to better understand their child, recognize symptoms, select the best treatments, and learn strategies that will help their child.
•   Employers need information on ADHD to understand how to maximize productivity of staff with ADHD.
•   Everyone with ADHD needs information on the disorder in order to understand their rights, what treatments may or may not work for them, and connect with other who "get" them.

Organizations providing science-based information on ADHD are few and far between. CHADD is a nonprofit that provides this valuable and authoritative information to all affected by ADHD. If you are a parent of a child with ADHD, a spouse of someone with ADHD, a teacher, a friend, or even if YOU have ADHD, CHADD needs your help to continue to meet the needs of the ADHD community. If every one of the 15 million affected by ADHD donated at least $1, CHADD could continue its work to inform teachers, assist parents, operate local support groups, and provide information to physicians, pediatricians, or therapists who treat ADHD. 

Please donate, show your support by using #OneOf15M and share your ADHD story.

Visit us at www.chadd.org or find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/chadd.org.