HYPER FOCUSED
Nantucket summer resident Nancy Armstrong’s groundbreaking documentary on ADHD.
What do astronaut Scott Kelly, socialite Paris Hilton, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, shoe designer Steve Madden, political pundit Glenn Beck, fitness guru Jillian Michaels and JetBlue founder David Neeleman all have in common? They all have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD. And they’re not the only ones. Studies show that nearly 10 percent of American children have ADHD, making it the most common pediatric diagnosis in the country.
While the numbers appear to be increasing, ADHD is not a new phenomenon. Looking back in history, researchers believe that it’s highly likely that well-known figures like Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein had ADHD. Despite its growing prevalence and historic precedence, many still believe ADHD to be a fake diagnosis. Some teachers dub it as an excuse for laziness, poor parenting or a general lack of intelligence. Nantucket summer resident Nancy Armstrong is out to change all that with a compelling documentary titled The Disruptors
"I wanted to make this film because of my own experience raising three children with ADHD, which was difficult and often overwhelming,” said Armstrong in her summer home off Cliff Road. “It was bewildering to me that there was no comprehensive film on this topic.” Indeed, as Armstrong navigated the complexities of parenting a son and two daughters who struggled to focus, control their impulses and self-regulate in class, she didn’t encounter a single person in her children’s schools who understood ADHD. Most perpetuated the negative stigmatizations of the condition. “You become acutely aware that you’re sending your children into the lion’s den,” she said, “where the teachers think ADHD is a hoax.”
When her three children were diagnosed, Nancy and her husband, Tim, made another startling discovery. As the clinician listed out the tendencies and behaviors indicative of ADHD, Tim found that he checked all the boxes. “That explained a lot,” Nancy said. The former chairman and CEO of AOL before founding DTX/ Flowcode, Tim struggled desperately in school growing up. In the third grade, his teacher put his desk in a cardboard refrigerator box with one side cut out so that he could only stare straight at the blackboard. Other teachers took a more disciplinarian approach, slamming his desktop onto his fingers like a rat trap whenever he acted out. By the eighth grade he was kicked out of middle school entirely. “Very rarely did our generation get diagnosed with ADHD unless we hit rock bottom,” explained Nancy. “Tim had to work ten times harder to excel. He also had the support of his parents, which is key.”
Reflecting on her family’s own experience and the dearth of information available to parents and teachers—this despite the fact that ADHD is one of the most commonly searched topics on the internet—Armstrong set out to make a transformative film. “My goal was to help millions of people, not only in this country but all over the world,” she said. “To help transform lives in a way that’s hard to imagine unless you’ve been through this journey.”
Armstrong’s documentary, which was directed by award-winning filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig of Atlas Films, not only destigmatizes and demystifies ADHD, but also shows how this brain type can actually become a super-strength if harnessed correctly. Following four families navigating the complexities of ADHD, the film captures how supportive parenting and teaching are core ingredients to enabling a child with ADHD to thrive. Drawing on the examples of world-famous performers such as multi-Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps and Simone Biles, Grammy Award winner will.i.am and even her own husband, Armstrong shows that when children with ADHD are encouraged to unleash their hyperfocus on a particular pursuit, they can achieve extraordinary results. “Absolutely all of them said it was the reason why they became so successful,” Armstrong said
On the flipside, Armstrong’s film also sheds light on the perils of undiagnosed ADHD. Among adults whose ADHD went untreated, rates of divorce, substance abuse and depression are higher than that of the general public. Perhaps most striking is that 25 percent of those incarcerated identify with having ADHD. The film tracks how this trend typically unfolds. When a child with ADHD is reprimanded instead of supported, they often end up being suspended or expelled from school, which can lead to juvenile detention, which can lead to falling into the wrong crowd, which can ultimately lead to criminality.
While rates of ADHD diagnosis in the United States are higher than anywhere else in the world, there are still those—mostly young girls—who don’t get diagnosed and receive the support they need. These girls who fall through the cracks, mainly because they don’t present with ADHD in the same conspicuous way as boys, often underachieve and develop anxiety and depression.
Pulling in some of the top experts, the film outlines the support systems available to children and adults alike. Medications like Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta are the most widely known, with studies showing that 80 percent of people who find the right prescription experience positive outcomes. But the film also indicates that the efficacy of the medication can be greatly enhanced through regular one-on-one therapy as well as family therapy. Unfortunately, that’s not always an option for families.
“We struggled as parents and as a family, and that was with access to resources, experts and help,” Armstrong said. “I can only imagine how hard it is for people who don’t have those things, so [with this film]
I really wanted to democratize the experts and the information while fundamentally reframing what we understand about ADHD.”
Since debuting, Armstrong’s The Disruptors has been shown at a number of film festivals and won global awards, but the most rewarding outcomes have been from some of the families the documentary has reached. “The letters that I get from parents around the world are just unbelievable,” Armstrong said. “They finally feel seen. Their children are finally being seen in an appropriate light...It’s meant so much to them to finally have a film that speaks to the truth of what ADHD is, to speak to the struggle but also to the magic of these kids.”
October is ADHD Awareness Month. For more information and resources about ADHD or to find screenings of The Disruptors documentary, visit disruptorsfilm.com.
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