Apparently, there is an ADHD Awareness Week. It’s going on right now.
And, why not? There is an awareness week, day or month for pretty much everything that exists, good and bad.
I’m not a big fan of "awareness." It’s not that I don’t think it is a bad thing for people to be aware, it’s just that these days, weeks and months accomplish just about as much as those anti-smoking commercials on TV. I mean, seriously, is there anyone left anywhere in a America who doesn’t know that smoking is bad for them? Is there really someone in Cleveland right now, who, if he just saw a commercial that showed a bunch of people pretending to die in front of a cigarette company’s headquarters, that he would stub out his last cigarette ever?
Likewise, are there really teachers, bosses, parents, students who have never heard of ADD/ADHD?
The reality is that people are aware or not aware of what they choose. Furthermore, even if they are aware of something, they care or do not care according to how they choose. Awareness, at least the kind of awareness practiced by the PR types who run these things, accomplishes nothing.
Next week, most people in America will know what ADD is. The same amounts of those people will think it is a sham or not, and the same amounts of people will have it.
Let’s call these things what they really are. Feel better about yourself by connecting with others who have, know someone who has, or otherwise is affected by ADHD, and raise some money while we are at it week.
If you are interested in the official version, you can check it out here: http://www.adhdawarenessweek.org/
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