Do I Need an ADHD Support Group?

"I read some of your blog," my supervisor said, "and now I understand your situation a little better. I have a better idea of why you're leaving."

And then, the question: "Do you go to a support group?"

I get that question a lot.

There is a support group in town for parents of kids with ADHD. And no, I don't go. The central Iowa chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) is offering an eight-week class for parents of kids with ADHD. Wow! That is so cool! But I'm not going. Village Enterprises, the agency that provides Natalie's in-home services, is starting a new parent support group. I'll go, but I don't really want to.

It's not that I don't need the support. And I'd love the professional advice and information. It's just that if I get to take one evening a month for myself, having it revolve around ADHD is not the way I want to spend it.

Make an appointment for me to have a massage. Sit me down in a comfy chair and hand me a good book. Put a glass of wine and a yummy meal in front of me. Let me go to bed early. Offer to watch my daughter so I can go to a movie with my son, or on a date with my husband. But don't talk to me about ADHD.

Maybe I need to get over that way of thinking. What do you think?

Do you attend a support group for parents of kids with ADHD? Is it helpful?