A Lesson in Dealing with Attention Seekers

As a Special Education major, I experience daily a very unique crowd of people in my classes. Special Education is a major that draws in all sorts of people, the loud and eccentric, the quiet and reserved, the intellectual and refined. And then theres me.

I don't really know what to classify myself as so we'll call me.. the sarcastic asshole of the group.
But I'm mostly only a sarcastic asshole in my head so it's no big deal.

Anyways, a few weeks ago in class while discussing disorders and disabilities, ADHD came up. The topic itself is not too unique to the field of Special Education, as it is listed under the IDEA as 'other health impairments'.

The awkward twist on the story is I myself am diagnosed with ADHD, and until this day, I did not think about how awkward discussing how to help students with ADHD would be.

I myself am medicated and have been for a few years now. I like to say, I'm a 'controlled crazy', but it's true that if i'm off my meds don't expect to get much out of me that's productive. When I'm not medicated I'm pretty much just hungry, lazy, and forgetful.

But this story isn't about me and my problems, because to be honest, we all know my life is depressing and awkward and weird and that's fine. No need to dwell on my ADHD too long, my attention span won't last anyways (ADHD jokes... always good).

As the teacher explained ADHD and the symptoms, side-effects of medicating, etc. I realized I'm a freak-zoid (though what else is new). People raised their hands and shared stories of people they knew who had ADHD, family members who struggled in school, etc. All good fun, you know, talking about us loser struggling ADHD kids. I spent no time announcing my ADHD to the class, because I felt it was irrelevant, I myself found no need to explain my personal experience to the class and bore them, the professors slides told it all.

Though I will admit when we watched a video about how hard it was for a girl with ADHD to make friends I had the urge to jump up and scream "I swear we aren't all socially challenged!! I have plenty of friends!!".... I refrained for fear me screaming that would prove we are all socially challenged.

The teacher then had a professor with ADHD that she worked with come in and explain her experience. At this point a very outspoken girl in the back row came out that she had ADHD (this was beginning to feel like an AA meeting of some strange sort, and I can't say I was enjoying it). For the next at least forty minutes we went on consoling this girl through her struggles with accepting her ADHD. She explained how stupid she felt and how she thought people found her dumb (If we think back to the 'You've just been subtly insulted!' post, this really fits, I felt insulted as always). For forty minutes the class became this girls personal counselor, as she explained to us she wanted to stay 'clean of medication' didn't want to 'change who she truly was to fit in' (I've just been subtly insulted! This girl made me seem like a teenager easily persuaded to drink by her friends). It's not the fact this girl had ADHD that pissed me off, it's the fact this girl acted as if she was the only one in the room with ADHD, that got to me.
It is remarkable I didn't stand up after 30 minutes of this and say "I am an example of why medication is good for a person."
Though I fully realized that would have been inappropriate, so clearly I did not.

But this story is not about how easily annoyed I am and how much of a sarcastic asshole I am. Let me tell you what I'm getting to.

People every single day are going to seek attention, they are going to get on your nerves, and they are going to find a way to make a small problem many people struggle with a big problem. It's our job as good people, to put up with it.
And let me tell you, I know it is REALLY hard sometimes.
But If I were to have stood up and countered her comments about medication being used for 'changing to fit in', then I would have been just as bad as she was. Attention seekers are everywhere, but when you see one, it's your job to let it go. Let attention seekers make their own mistakes, and as annoying as they are, don't make the mistake of trying to stop them or call them out.
It will change nothing and simply make you look bad.
Attention seekers can suck, but lord knows at some point you have probably done the same thing, so have a little sympathy no matter how annoying they can be.

The best way to handle this in my opinion?
Do what I do, let the sarcastic annoyed comments flow through your head, not your mouth, and then blog about it later to random people on the internet.

Or as always, the best way to handle any annoying situation?
Laugh at it.

Sincerely,
Laughing away.