Aiden
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
‘I have come to hide my ADHD, or at least try my best to, as any attempt to be honest about it often leads to more issues.’
A doctor diagnosed Aiden with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when he was five. He’s now in his 30s.
‘I am grateful that you are looking into this,’ Aiden told the Royal Commission. ‘I do not want [my son] to face the same challenges that I did.’
Aiden said he had ‘curiosity, passion, creativity, and enthusiasm for anything [he] was interested in’ until he went to school.
‘[Then] things got tough, especially when [the struggles of people with ADHD] are invisible to most, and do not stand out like other more obvious handicaps.’
Aiden said he was unsupported at school and was ‘punished and ostracised’ when he couldn’t sit still.
‘I was the kind of kid who always wanted to do the right thing. Who always wanted to please people, to make them laugh, and who always wanted to be liked, included and appreciated.’
Instead, he said, he was ‘always in the wrong, always in trouble’. Aiden was frequently punished to try to ‘make [him] stop and think next time, try harder and not be so selfish’.
‘I started to believe that there was something innately wrong with me. That I was bad. That I was stupid. That I was broken.’
Towards the end of primary school, a psychiatrist prescribed medication.
‘Suddenly I could do the work, I would sit down and shut up. I must have been a dream for the teachers! [But] all of my creativity and expression was gone. This was strictly about targets. I had to do the work, and that is all they cared about.’
A few years later, in high school, Aiden’s family and psychiatrist ‘all made an uninformed consensus that [he] must have grown out of [his] ADHD’.
‘There was an obvious stigma in society, especially in my teen years, around the use of stimulant meds. People did not accept it.’
He stopped taking the medications, self-medicated ‘with other substances’, dropped out of high school, and began an apprenticeship. He again faced ridicule when he ‘forgot something, lost focus or did not understand something’.
‘During this time, I entered a deep depression,’ Aiden said.
Aiden saw a few psychologists for this depression, until one mentioned that ‘his struggles may be ADHD related’. A psychiatrist diagnosed adult ADHD and prescribed medication.
‘My life got a bit better again. I say “better” from a productivity standpoint, but not personal creativity goals, social life or otherwise. I was able to work for eight hours without a total meltdown. That is it.’
Aiden said doctors relied on medication but had ‘no real tools on how to manage the disorder’.
‘This needs to change.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.