Summer is when PEI comes alive. It can be a period of family, connection, and happy memories; but it can also be a time of transition and disruption in routine with school breaks, summer camps, summer jobs, short staffing at work. As the seasons change our routines and adaptations need to flow and adjust as well. Check out our resource page at www.adhdpei.ca, to access resources that can help you manage your ADHD during the summer transition.
Since September 2018 ADHD PEI has hosted a Weekly Support group every week with few exceptions, however this year we have decided to pause our weekly meetings for July and August. Taking this step will allow us to rest, reflect on what is working and what could be improved, and then come back in September with renewed passion and focus. Pausing the regular weekly meetings does not mean our efforts to support folks will stop. We are going to be hosting a series of meetups over the summer for people to connect and share in more casual social settings. We will also have online meetings once a month on July 21st and August 11th.
I want to thank everyone so much for their passion for ADHD support and for joining this community. If you want to support us further we have a few fundraising events upcoming. In August we will be having a raffle in support of ADHD PEI, many local businesses and organizations have donated some amazing prizes! We also have our ongoing Fouder’s campaign and will be launching a specific Founding Donors Initiative soon. For more information keep an eye on our website and social media.
I hope you and your family have an amazing summer filled with love, joy, family and fun. Together we can thrive!
--
Sandy Slade,
President ADHD PEI
If you are interested in becoming a member of our community peer support network please reach out to us on Facebook or at our website www.ADHDPEI.ca.
News and Events
OUR GROUP WAS REQUESTED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR A RECENT ARTICLE ON ADHD: www.Saltwire.com Laura Duke's article about ADHD in women and girls has many personal stories and great information about ADHD being diagnosed late in many women, partially due to differences in our understanding of what ADHD is and how it presents.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOUNDER'S CAMPAIGN: https://www.adhdpei.ca/founders-campaign
Our Founder's Campaign is underway! If you are interested in becoming a founding donor and helping our registered non-profit organization take the next steps in its development you can find more information about donor tiers and what we need funds for on our webpage. If you aren't able to donate yourself but know someone who would like to help the ADHD community in PEI please feel free to send them this newsletter or refer them to the link above!
SUMMER SCHEDULE CHANGES: https://www.adhdpei.ca/events
We are not holding regular weekly support group meetings for July and August, but that doesn't mean we are gone! Some online meetings will still be happening and we will be hosting more casual social meet-ups through the summer. Check out our events schedule for details!
Our regular weekly in-person support group meetings will be paused for the months of July and August. In their place we will have some casual summer meet-ups. Watch our events page and social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) for new summer events and location/date/time information.
MARKET MEET-UP ON JULY 17th:
On Saturday, July 17th around 11:00am ADHD PEI members will be meeting up at the Charlottetown Farmer's Market at the picnic tables near the pizza food truck.
If you want to meet other folks with ADHD and have some fun hanging out come and join us! We'll chat, hang out, grab coffee/food/whatever and afterward we plan to go on a walk down the trail to get that ever important exercise!
Everyone is welcome whether you or a family member have ADHD, wonder if you might have ADHD, or just want to know more about it and hang out with some kindred spirits :D
SUMMER ONLINE ZOOM MEETINGS WILL BE HELD ON JULY 21st and AUGUST 11th Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9720415025
Meeting ID: 972-041-5025
If you cannot or don't wish to attend an in-person meeting do not fear! If you haven't used Zoom before you can check it out here. The first time you join a meeting you may be prompted to download some software, after that Zoom will be able to launch from your computer when you click a meeting link.
How ADHD has touched me
“..for the first time I wasn’t being told to climb a tree that 'normal people' could climb. Instead, I was given an ocean to swim in, a forest to run through, and wings to fly with ...”
ADHD: a beautiful creature; a blessing and a curse; super power and kryptonite all in one. Having ADHD is amazing when I’m managing the symptoms, maintaining my routine, preparing for the upcoming days’ scheduled events, and practicing my self-care. A beautiful human being I have the privilege to call friend once said to me, “Remember, where there is a defined weakness, there is a defined strength!”. I don’t believe I fully understood the true meaning of what was said to me that day until my diagnosis of ADHD two and a half years ago.
As a child, I grew up in the poverty-stricken areas of Saint John, New Brunswick. I found myself getting into trouble much of the time and experienced a rough upbringing. I ran around as a kid running my mouth without a filter and getting bullied by other kids. In school I couldn’t sit and pay attention in class and often caused disruptions which led to me being disciplined by the teacher. A note would come home stating the facts of said incident, for which I was disciplined a second time. Rinse and repeat. Reflecting on my childhood, teen years, and early adult life used to make me angry. I made so many impulsive decisions, hurt a lot people, lost many friends, and I couldn’t seem to see things through from start to finish.
In high school I struggled academically, but I was one of the “cool kids” due to my inability to control my mouth, my temper, and my fists. This is all I knew and what I was made to believe. My fifth grade teacher told me that they passed me so I wouldn’t be in their class again. I was a bad kid… not a kid with bad behaviour. There was no consideration that there might be issues at home, or that I was a kid who suffered bullying or that there might be a learning disability or anything. This was the mold. This is a ‘Bad Kid’.
Enter hyper-focus. Not having a clue about ADHD I was introduced to boxing and I fell in love with the sport and the science. I could fight people and not get into trouble! I learned fast. I was exercising, letting go of stress and anger, and I was a natural at it. Boxing was a lifesaver for me. The only issue was that I lacked discipline. Instead of training everyday, my impulses had other plans.
Fast-forwarding through my life, I joined the Canadian Armed Forces out of high-school. My recruit training was challenging. The challenge wasn’t the yelling and name calling (I was accustomed to that), it wasn’t the cleaning, inspections, weapons handling, or the physical training. The challenge was preparing for and prioritizing these tasks in the small amount of time given. I was often left with some tasks finished, many tasks half finished, and ordered to hold a plank for long periods of time for all the tiny details I had missed.
Despite the challenges, I had a great and rewarding career within the Forces. I responded well to the routine and structure and found my niche. I was good. I deployed overseas and roughly two months into my tour was injured and returned to Canada. Unable to return to duty with my brothers, I was devastated.
Later I was posted with a new Unit, and things were going well at work. I was Promoted to Corporal, completed five out of six Leadership Modules and was training to deploy overseas for a second tour. At this point, however, I had marital issues that came to the forefront and resulted in me being pulled off the tour. I was enraged at the time because I could only think about me, in that moment, and not the bigger picture of what was at stake. I will be forever thankful to the man who made that decision and was completely honest and direct with me about it. Because of him I have my wife and beautiful children with me today.
My rollercoaster ride continued. Up and down, left and right, round and round. I couldn’t understand why. Why was I depressed, feeling shame, feeling guilty, and feeling like I needed to prove myself to be ok with myself?
Fast-forward again and I receive a medical release from the Canadian Forces. I started college and another beautiful human entered my life. This person seemed to know more about me and how my brain worked than I knew about myself. I found great success in academics because for the first time I wasn’t being told to climb a tree that “normal people” could climb. Instead, I was given an ocean to swim in, a forest to run through, and wings to fly with as options that I could choose from. I could choose whatever worked for me.
My professor understood, without knowing anything about me or my peers, that providing options for trial and error would lead me to find my learning style in an unstructured setting and not feel punished for having a different view. I could think and write anything I wanted regarding the course theory so long as I could back it up. I learned more about myself during the two-year course than I would have ever thought possible.
I was doing great in class. I volunteered with a couple of organizations. I was lifting weights. I was doing the things I had been taught to do for self care, but I still couldn’t stop my mind from spinning and ripping myself apart on the inside.
I finally asked the question: could I have ADHD or Bi-Polar Disorder?
Fast-forward once more to the present time. I am a man with ADHD. I am a man with Major Depressive Disorder. I am a man with Adjustment Disorder. I am a man that struggles with Anxiety. I am a man that has memory and information processing delays. I am a man that feels inadequate at times. I am a man that struggles with self-expression. I am a man that struggles to start a simple task. I am a man that feels like a child at times.
HOWEVER...
I am also a father, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a cousin, and a friend. I graduated high school in five and a half years and college with honours, something I didn’t think was possible. I was a provincial boxing champion. A football team Captain. I have volunteered with at-risk youth and received an award from the province. I am a volunteer in the community. I have a beautiful family. I am loved and supported.
I am a Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces. I have served my country on deployment overseas. I have served my country domestically. I have served along side some of the best people I know, some of whom are not here today. I miss them very much. They may be gone but never will be forgotten. R.I.P Brothers.
Most importantly, I am ME.
In conclusion, ADHD presents itself in many different ways amongst men and women. I have so much to learn about my ADHD and every day presents something new. It’s not always easy, but I have been able to achieve a great deal when the right seed gets planted. I utilize coping strategies, reach out to supports when needed (Thank you ADHD PEI!), and love what I’m doing. My ADHD diagnosis was the missing link that answered many “whys” about my life.
Today, I like me. I’m learning to love me.
If you laughed, smiled, cried, reflected, remembered, got angry or confused while reading this then I happily welcome you, as I experienced all of those things while writing it. Thank you for reading my story and joining me on the rollercoaster.
(NOTE: This is an abridged version of a story that we originally posted on Remembrance Day and that has been featured on our website)
Resources
FEATURED RESOURCES: https://www.adhdandyou.ca/
This amazing website is chock full of useful resources and has a handy filtering tool to tailor the results to your specific needs, including specific information and resources related to COVID-19. Are you a parent looking for help with your ADHD teen during the pandemic? Are you an adult with ADHD looking for financial resources? No matter who you are, they've got you covered!
https://www.adhdincanada.com/
A research team in Alberta conducted a study of children with ADHD and how the pandemic has affected them and their families. You can see their results on their website, with some handy infographics that show the impact this pandemic has had on kids with ADHD.
REGULAR RESOURCE LIST:
Our regular list of local and online resources can be found on our website HERE. If you have other good resources that you've found please share them on our Facebook page!
