In recognition of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) Awareness Month, the Neurodiversity in IT team held an online event on Oct. 6, 2022, focused on personal stories shared by several Stanford staff members with ADHD.
The goal of the event was to foster more acceptance, understanding, and community support around ADHD and neurodiversity. With the 2022 worldwide theme for ADHD Awareness Month being “understanding the shared experience,” even the music that played before the Oct. 6 event came from a playlist of musicians with ADHD.
Learning by listening
In the keynote, Scotty Logan, solutions architect in University IT (UIT) Enterprise Technology, spoke on the theme “ADHD: Embrace the chaos.” With humor and examples, Scotty gave insight to what those with ADHD experience and shared how to be an ally. He also discussed the different types of ADHD, explaining that people can have more than one type, and that type can change from day to day.
Scotty shared he was not diagnosed until he was an adult and his children were diagnosed with ADHD. To help with the stigma his kids felt around needing to take medication, he has become more open about his own journey with ADHD.
After Scotty shared, four additional Stanford employees shared about their journeys with ADHD:
- Jimmy Vales, system engineer, UIT
- Guadalupe Gomez, support services analyst, Residential & Dining Enterprises
- Auston Stamm, digital accessibility instructional specialist, UIT
- Shavon Borjas, manager of Employee Relations & Outcomes, Stanford Career Education
Some panelists were diagnosed early, while others were only recently diagnosed as adults. Panelists detailed their various mechanisms for managing their ADHD as well as their struggles. By sharing each unique experience, panelists were able to show commonalities and differences in their journeys.
Increasing allyship
Through Q&A, the event speakers shared additional thoughts and lived experiences with the audience. Toward the end of the session, each speaker provided their thoughts on how to be a better ally for someone with ADHD.
“I think the chief thing you can do for someone who has ADHD is grace. Give them grace and assume good intent.” - Shavon Borjas
Event resources and learning opportunities
To access event resources:
- View the event recording.
- View the event slides.
- View Scotty’s keynote presentation slides.
- Listen to the Spotify playlist by musicians with ADHD.
To extend your learning:
- Join the Neurodiversity Community of Practice:
- https://stanfordcop.slack.com
- #cop-neurodiversity channel
- Read Anonymous Stories shared with the Neurodiversity in IT program.
- Discover famous people with ADHD.
