From our June 2025 Newsletter
Somewhere along the way, we started calling ADHD a superpower.That language and thinking can be tempting. It’s hopeful. It flips the script. It helps us feel like there’s something positive, maybe even magical, about the way our brains work.
But calling ADHD a superpower can unintentionally create a whole new kind of shame.
Because if you’re not feeling very powerful right now – if you’re overwhelmed by emotion you can’t name, if you missed another appointment, forgot another birthday, or reacted before thinking – it can feel like you’re failing twice. Failing at life, and now failing at having the “right” kind of ADHD.
And it starts young.Imagine being a child who’s been told they have a “superpower” – but every day feels like a battle. They try to sit still, but their legs won’t stop moving. They want to listen, but their brain skips ahead. They try to be “good,” but their emotions rise up like a tidal wave before they can even find the words.
They hear the adults say, “He’s so clever, so bright – he just needs to try harder.”
They hear the teachers say, “She’s so capable when she applies herself.”
They hear the message loud and clear: If this is a superpower, why am I always in trouble?
We need to talk about that…
Yes, there are incredible strengths in the ADHD experience – creativity, spontaneity, deep empathy, intense focus when it matters most. But saying it’s a superpower without acknowledging the pain? That’s skipping the hard part – the vulnerability – the part where we say: this is hard, and it’s real, and you are not broken.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental difference that exists in a world full of social rules we didn’t write. And those rules? They reward people who can sit still, follow long instructions, regulate emotions, and keep perfect time.
That doesn’t make those people better. It just means the world was built to work better for them.
Imagine a world where being cautious, quiet, or reflective was considered “too much.”
Where asking questions wasn’t frowned upon.
Where consistency was seen as suspicious.
Another group of people would be struggling to be seen, too. And that would be unjust.
Every human being is a blend of strengths and challenges. But not everyone’s challenges are judged so harshly or so publicly.
So, no… ADHD doesn’t need to be a superpower to be valid.
You don’t have to be exceptional to be worthy.
And our children don’t need to be ‘inspiring’ to be loved.
We don’t need to rebrand our struggle to make it more palatable for others.
