I am very pleased that Tom agreed to do guest post for me. He is unique.
Nothing more to ADD.
doug
I was diagnosed over 15 years ago with ADHD. I never intended to be such an outspoken member of the community. It just sort of happened. Today, I don’t think there is anyone who knows me that is not aware of my ADHD. The Idea of hiding it has never occurred to me. What is the point of being this awesome if no one knows why.
I do not judge anyone who feels the need to hide their ADHD. I accept that there are circumstances for which discretion is warranted. Not everybody lets their ADHD develop into some kind of hobby.
I used to be a blogger and after I wrote my book, I shifted over to podcasting where my wife and I do a show together Podcasting allows me to say more than writing does. I enjoy it because I am an attention whore. My wife enjoys it because it is spending time with me.
On the show we celebrate our lives as an ADHD couple and the main purpose of the show is to give people an alternative to learning productivity and self-improvement. There are not many ADHD entertainment options out there so that is our thing.
My real job is being an associate at The Home Depot. One thing I like about them is they encourage Individualism. During this past ADHD Awareness Month, I tried something I had never tried before.
I went a different way. My apron reads. Hi I’m ADHD my name is Tom Nardone. I was really curious to see the impact this would have. I am happy to tell you I have not received a single snide comment or insensitive remark about my ADHD.
What I have received is many people thanking me for being so outspoken. Others have shared with me, their own challenges or the challenges of their kids. I have had people asking me questions like what is ADHD and how does it affect me.
One man asked me, “Sir, why is it that I walk around scared to death people will find out I am ADHD and you wear it with pride for hundreds of people to see every day?” To which I replied, “Because you have not figured out what is Awesome about it yet.”
My point is this. If you want to keep it a secret then do so. It is not your responsibility to educate and help the world. I myself am a selfish bastard about a great many things and I do not offer an apology for it. I just have a burden for those with ADHD. Sometimes just by people knowing you are ADHD, you can make a huge difference in someone’s life.
There are benefits to people knowing. The biggest of which is that when people know you are ADHD, you don’t have to be alone with it. Not everyone will be so compassionate about it. Some people are just a$$holes
We have all run into people who are insensitive about it and we have all heard it before. They anger many of us and I have even had friends of mine get depressed about an article they have read. Those people do not bother me anymore. I just say, “Okay, I don’t have any requirement of you to believe me” and I move on. I will never let those people prevent you people from being inspired by this person
I am Tom Nardone, and you are welcome.
Tom Nardone
TWITTER
@tomnardoneshow
@adhdpeople
Websites:
http://adhdpeople.net
http://tomnardone.net
http://thetomnardoneshow.com
ADDadultstrategies 
It never occurred to me to hide my ADHD. In fact, I probably talk about it too much. I’ve tried to be silent but it’s such a HUGE part of my life!!! I’m constantly learning and trying to figure out how to manage better. It doesn’t help that as life and my circumstances change, so does my ADHD. So just when I think I have it figured out, I have to start over. Well, maybe not all the way over – but definitely have to regroup and figure out how to cope with new challenges.
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Homey – Welcome back! have missed you. I second everything you said except my ADD ADHD doesnt seem to change much.
did you get things sorted out? probably difficult.
thank you for contributing
doud
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Thanks for introducing us to this guy. I bought a copy of his ebook this morning and have been reading it. I’m getting a few laughs out of it. Reading about his childhood experiences in elementary school has been flooding my mind with memories, it’s kind of surreal. lots of shame and embarrassment that I either forgot about or didn’t realize I had. a lot of it makes sense now.
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hold- glad you got the book. Tom is funny! it is a relief when things fit together and finally make sense.
thank you for your contributions
doug
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holdthatthought, Thanks so much for the kind words and for buying my book. You have truly made my week. I am glad you are relating to it.
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holdthatthought thank you for buying Chasing Kites. I hope you are enjoying it. I would love to hear our thoughts on it
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tom -you just repeated a comment. maybe you have adhd or something? maybe youd like to do another guest blog?
best wishes
doug
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Yes of course i would love to do another guest blog Doug. I had an idea for one. I will send it to you when it is done
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tom
– great! thanks. look forward to it. you might include that episode on being bullied from your podcast, or you might want to make it a separate one? and about being bullied by teachers?
best wishes
doug
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hey tom! happily.
i enjoyed the book very much. i have actually recommended the book to two people (a friend and my girlfriend’s mom) as i felt the book & your message in it would have a significant impact in their life.
my girlfriend’s brother has adhd and has joined the airforce 2 years ago. he’s deployed and i don’t get to talk to him very often but from what i understand he’s shared a lot of your experiences growing up, and i see many parallels in his life while enlisted as you while in the navy. i told his mom about it, and i hope she bought the book for him as a gift.
like i said, i enjoyed the book. it gave me many laughs and while reading it, i liked to talk to my girlfriend about what young tommy did.
reading about your experiences raising a child was fascinating, particularly with how you would channel your late father in his discipline.
i was also intrigued by your relationship with Yvonne, and how you both handle the adhd. i remember you mentioning at one point that you got your own seperate bedroom–do y’all still do that? my girlfriend and i are considering it, as I’m not a particularly gentle creature to sleep with.
anyway, thanks for reaching out about it several months after the fact. I’m glad you did & hope you and your family are doing well.
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Yes hold that thought. still loving separate bedrooms.
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