pedantry: I'm ADHD vs I have ADHD

[quibling]

I am hearing people say "I'm ADHD" when I'd rather they said "I have ADHD"
I totally get the argument against saying "he has autism" because it's not a disease, and its a fundamental part of the person. I get that its better to say 'he is autistic' instead.
But given ADHD starts for "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder" it doesn't make sense to say "I am disorder" also, unlike autism, you can develop ADHD in later life, so its a different kind of thing.
AIBU to think this is wrong?

Can you develop it in later life or is it just that lots of people don't get diagnosed until later?

I couldn’t care less how people want to describe themselves when it comes to such matters.

But the clinical term for autism is ASD (Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorder)? So by your logic the person would still be saying “I am disorder”.

Also, you can’t develop ADHD as an adult. Even if you aren’t assessed until adulthood the diagnostic criteria requires that you experienced the appropriate symptoms between the ages of 5-12years.

Do you have ADHD?

You can decide how you want people to refer to you, if you have ADHD.

You can't decide how everyone else refers to themselves.

I don't think it sounds right to say "I'm ADHD". I'd say something like "I'm hyperactive" then go on to describe the condition in more specific detail but I don't think 'I'm ADHD' really fits within appropriate use of language when discussing disabilities in any case, tbh.

YABU. People can describe their biggest struggle in life any way they damn well please. I wouldn't personally say "I'm ADHD" but I wouldn't pull anyone up who did.

I’m a bit of a pedant so I’m with you! 😂

I really don't like posters on here talking about their DC like this, ' he is ASD/SEN/ADHD'. No he isn't, he is a wonderful human WITH that condition. He is not the condition. I know people disagree and say their DC ARE autistic etc but it really bothers me. My DD HAS autism, it doesn't define her, she is more than that. But then I always say people with disabilities, someone with diabetes etc rather than she is diabetic, she is disabled etc because I think its really important to put the person first. But I know lots of people disagree!

Obviously wouldn’t say it to people though. I strongly suspect I have ADHD myself if that is any excuse.

But do you not think they're doing it as shorthand (like using DH, DD, DS etc) to get to the point of their post a bit quicker? As their parents, presumably they know how wonderful their own child is (with the exception of those depressing "I hate my ADHD 16 year old" sort of threads).

It's a standard form of sentence contraction, "I'm [[self-]diagnosed with] ADHD". Entirely reasonable, entirely comprehensible by anyone.

But that's your daughter my son has autism and is hugely impacted by it he massively disabled by it ,describe your daughter they way you want but don't criticize others who describe their own children the way they want .

I'm an autistic. Eldest describes themselves as 'having a touch of the 'tism'.
Next child describes themselves as a special. Does it really matter how some one describes themselves?

Same with being autistic. I say I'm
Autistic some say not to use that i never know the difference.

Oh and my older son was diagnosed with Diabetes six months ago and he says he is Diabetic as his right.

You want somebody (like me) to bother saying three whole words? No time for that. If they're lucky, they get '(shrug) ADHD' as I'm already looking out the window at the next interesting thing.

I have adhd and I have never heard anyone describe themselves as I'm ADHD but I wouldn't care if they did. I think a bigger problem is people with ADHD sadly sometimes feel embarrassed about their diagnose and don't say anything until I tell them I have ADHD...

If that's how a person chooses to describe themselves, that's fine by me. However, if you're describing another person it's correct to say they have ADHD.
This is something close to my heart as one of my DC has albinism - its very rude / othering to say they are an albino.

I say I'm adhd because it's an integral part of who I am, much like an autistic person is autistic. I hate the grammatical word in it, but I don't 'have' ADHD as if it's an extra or removable thing in my life 🤷‍♀️

And it's not something that can develop later in life, you have it or you don't.

But your son does not say "I'm diabetes". He says that he's diabetic. The former is a noun; the latter an adjective.

I have ADHD but would never say "I'm ADHD"; rather I say "I have ADHD". I am also autistic and don't care if someone describes me as being autistic or having autism.

I say I am diabetic rather than I have diabetes. It feels better somehow. Saying "I have diabetes" feels like saying I have a disease or I have a cold. To me it feels like more than that. I am diabetic because it's a huge part of my life and the permanent condition my body is in. It's not something I have that will go. Similar to saying "I am visually impaired" rather than "I have visual impairments". It's purely semantics, but one feels better than the other.

I've made a right hash of explaining that!

I was replying to a,pp,who said it should be person First so it should be he says he has diabetes not that he is diabetic
Of course he wouldn't say I'm Diabetes because that makes no.sense .

I have
Diagnosed as a child but it wasn't aupported as nowaydays. Still consideted naughty. No pills, BUT i was givem some training tollswhich help so yay

@quibling

I am hearing people say "I'm ADHD" when I'd rather they said "I have ADHD"
I totally get the argument against saying "he has autism" because it's not a disease, and its a fundamental part of the person. I get that its better to say 'he is autistic' instead.
But given ADHD starts for "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder" it doesn't make sense to say "I am disorder" also, unlike autism, you can develop ADHD in later life, so its a different kind of thing.
AIBU to think this is wrong?

You are making a few mistakes here.

ADHD is understood as a form of neurodivergence with a close relationship to Autism. Many Autistic people prefer identity first language rather than person first e.g. Autistic person vs Person with Autism. This is because Autism can form such a key part of their personality. Similar language is preferred by many neurodivergent people with ADHD though there isn't really easily used language around it, like "Autistic". So you'll find lots of people say "I'm ADHD" or "I'm AuDHD" (Autistic with ADHD).

ADHD is poorly named, and sounds like a condition that neurotypical people develop like a disease. But it's not, it is a neurodivergence that is a fundamental part of the person. Like Autism it can't be cured. Medication doesn't change the fact that a person has ADHD, it just enhances the transmission of dopamine and improves function.

You cannot develop ADHD in later life. It can go unrecognised until later life having been masked or unrecognised previously. Some people might experience a worsening though life events -burn out, depression, menopause etc which brings the diagnosis to light, but it's still not new. Some people can develop cognitive deficits similar to ADHD as a result of brain injury, but again this is probably not the same thing as true ADHD which is ever present and associated with differences in brain structure and function from birth.

The bottom line though, is that people who have a condition are the ones who choose how they identify and describe that condition. You just need to respect that. They will have their reasoning as to whether they want to use identity first or person first language. Some people still prefer to describe themselves as having Asperger's despite the controversies around this. Working in mental health I always use the term the patient prefers