Over the past couple of years, I have been on a journey of making a bunch of self discoveries. One of which being an Inattentive ADHD diagnosis. As I continue to unpack and understand how ADHD affects me on a daily basis, the more I realize how much my vision loss does not make the challenges any easier to tackle. So, here are some of the ways my vision loss and ADHD collaborate against me:
- “Out of sight, out of mind” is more real for me than you can imagine. I already experience object permanence because of ADHD, but when you add blindness to the mix, even the things that should be “in sight” fade into the grey of the things I forget exist (which can be frustrating).
- Finding ways to remember to do different tasks, attend meetings and appointments, and whatever else, is a great challenge for me as well. Unfortunately, the best way for me to remind myself of these things is to have them right in front of my face. Of course it can’t be as easy as having sticky notes all over my house, because I would have to see them to remember to look at them. I’ve also tried just using reminder apps on my phone, but once again, if I forget to look, it doesn’t exist!
- Spatial awareness can be difficult for some people with ADHD to manage…I am one of those people. Being partially sighted on top of that is really just a recipe for disaster. It’s almost like I will be so focused on managing what I can see, but all the while not at all being aware of the space around me. This tends to lead to me bumping my head, elbows and even into other people in public (oops).
These are just a couple of ways my two pals vision loss and ADHD band together to make me work harder and creatively to find ways to do every day things like anyone else. It can definitely be frustrating, but it is always so rewarding when I do discover strategies that work for me personally. It is important to note that not all people with ADHD and vision loss are the same, we just all unlock strategies that work for our own personal experiences and needs. If you experience some of these tendencies as I do, know that you are not alone and there are ways we can make it work!
Written by Taylor Gaudon