What it is like living with ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder is hard to describe to someone who is not ADD. Many non-ADD people feel that Attention Deficit Disorder is not a real affliction. Yet for those who live with ADD on a daily basis, Attention Deficit Disorder is very real. If you know an adult or child with ADD this article may help you better understand what he or she is living with on a daily basis.

Having ADD is kind of like going to a baseball game. No, I do not mean Attention Deficit Disorder is all fun and games. What I do mean is ADD has a lot of outside factors that affect how someone with ADD communicates and responds to others.

When two non-ADD people have a conversation, both usually can focus on what the other is saying, without great difficulty. However, if one person is ADD, the conversation is often drastically different. The person with ADD can have great difficulty focusing on the words of the person right next to him or her, because of everything happening around them.

An ADD mind has to work overtime to block out all of the sights, sounds, smells, and textures being experienced constantly inside and out. Anything that affects any one or all of the five senses, sight, sound, smell, touch, and even taste can affect how effectively one is able concentrate on the present.

Everything that is inundating one of these five senses must be blocked out or ignored by the mind. This constant blocking is draining, both physically and mentally. People with ADD can often feel overwhelmed or worn down, especially in bright and noisy environments.

Now imagine being at a baseball game, while focusing on the person talking next to you, while the bright lights shine from above. The music from the organ playing “Take me out to the ball game” loudly blasts from the speakers, along with other sounds of the ushers, calling out “Get you popcorn!” The announcer on the overhead speaker telling fans it is the top of the sixth inning with one out. The squeaking of the seats, the various conversations and cheers happening around you, while you try to listen to the person next to you and watch the baseball game. Even the temperature can affect concentration, if it is too hot or too cold, causing a distraction.

Quiet environments can almost be worse for people with ADD, as many people with ADD will describe that they are distracted by the small repetitive noises around them. For example often the tick-tick-tick of the air conditioner or the humming of the water cooler seems loud while your boss attempts to update you on a new policy. Everything tries to pull your focus away from the conversation at hand, almost like a small child saying “mom” “mom” “mom” repeatedly as he or she pulls on your sleeve.

Often one hears conversations behind them better than the one they are involved with personally. It is no wonder that children and adults are often overwhelmed and exhausted from trying to tune out everything in the environment around them. To focus means to ignore everything around you except the conversation at hand. Being ADD is difficult even under the best circumstances, so if you need to tell someone with ADD something important writing it down is a good first step.

There is nothing more distracting during a conversation than for someone to try and get an ADD person’s attention by talking over their current conversation in side talk. If you need to tell a child something important, turn off the television or video game first. Next, make eye contact and in one or two sentences tell them what you want them to do. For instance it is time for you to take your shower.

Remember people often hear only the first or last thing you tell them. If you rattle off five things, do not be surprised when the first four are not done. Also, what shower means to you and to your child may mean two different things. For my ADD children, saying shower time meant play time, so we set a limit on five minutes for my ten year old son, and ten minutes for my teenage daughter. Try always to say what you mean and mean what you say and you will see astounding results.