Fashion, Style, and ADHD

I’m a big fan of the show “What Not to Wear” on TLC. For those of you who don’t know about it, each week the show picks someone who’s been nominated by their friends or family because of their fashion disasters.

The shows hosts, Stacey and Clinton, critique the person’s wardrobe, make suggestions on better choices, and then give them $5,000.00 to buy a new wardrobe. They also get their hair and make-up done.

I find it really interesting to see what a difference simple changes can make; it’s sort of like a Cinderella story each week.

The other day, one of the hosts made a comment to the person they were helping, and it really stuck with me. The woman in question had a tendency to wear loud, brightly printed pants (often a little too short) with colorful socks and clogs. Her everyday look was almost clownish; it was hard to believe that a professional would wear such clothes to work.

One of the hosts remarked to her that dressing in this manner was a form of defense mechanism. Wearing such over the top clothes took all the attention away from her and focused it on what she was wearing. If people found her unappealing, unprofessional, or just not worthy of attention, she could always blame it on her wardrobe; people would never get past the awful clothes to see the real person underneath.

When I heard that remark, it hit a little close to home. I can remember going through a phase in my younger years when I tended to dress a little “quirky”, and I can see now that that is exactly what I was doing. I was always the new girl at school, cause we tended to move a lot, and when you add in shyness and ADD, it made life difficult. Wearing crazy clothes took the attention away from me, and kept most people away, too. The few people who did approach me were those with their own battle scars and we could relate.

Now’s the time of year when kids go back to school shopping. Even if you don’t buy anything new this year, take a good look at what your child chooses to dress in, and how they present themselves.

It’s one thing to adopt a look that lots of other kids are wearing, too, (regardless of how you think it looks) and quite another to set your own style, especially if it’s a style that would tend to put people off.

Kids with Attention Deficit Disorder sometimes become the class clown in order to hide their shortcomings. Dressing in a weird style is another way to sort of do the same thing, although it’s not attention or laughter they’re looking for.

If you find that your child is dressing in a manner that concerns you, recognize it as the outer signs of a deeper problem. The answer is to help them work through whatever issues are troubling them, and that might mean a therapist or other professional.

Don’t ask them to change the way they look; allow them to be who they are right now. If you seek the help they need, their clothing and outward appearance will be a reflection of what’s going on inside, and you will see changes begin to take place.

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