“I worked with the Association for AD/HD for almost 3 years. AD/HD stands for attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder and symptoms include difficulty focusing, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Parenting is hard enough, but parenting children with special needs adds a whole new dimension – many struggle with communicating with and disciplining their kids. Our mission is to bring these parents together, to share resources and to provide a supportive network and community. My work was very diverse. I took care of operations, accounts, marketing and I recruited new members and organised events. Before this, I was in the banking industry for more than two decades. I first started volunteering in 1998, answering calls for The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association hotline to provide support to kids in need. After all those years in the financial world, I reached a point in my career where I was seeking purpose and questioning what more I could do for our community. When this opportunity came up, I decided to go for it.”

「我喺專注不足/過度活躍症(香港)協會做咗差不多三年了，AD/HD嘅全名係專注力不足/過度活躍症，徵狀包括專注力失調、活動量過高同埋自制能力弱。湊小朋友本來就唔容易，湊有特殊需要嘅小朋友就更加難，好多家長都要重新學習點樣同小朋友溝通，點樣去管教佢哋。我哋希望將呢班家長聚埋一齊，分享大家有嘅資源，提供一個支援網絡同埋社群俾佢哋。我好多嘢都會做㗎，協會嘅日常運作啦、財政、宣傳、招募新會員同埋籌備活動都會幫手。未加入協會之前，我喺銀行工作超過20年。1998年嗰陣我開始喺香港小童群益會入面做義工，幫手聽熱線電話，支援有需要嘅小朋友。當時喺商業世界做咗好多年，去到一個位，我想自己做嘅嘢更加有意義，想睇下自己仲有咩可以做去幫到社會。見到有呢個機會，我就決定要把握。」

“During the heights of COVID, I organised a few rounds of resource distribution to families in need. We wanted to send the message that we are there to support them through this challenging period. Compassion to me means stepping into someone else’s shoes and acting accordingly to meet their needs. Kindness can be expressed in many different ways but the most important thing is to listen intently and openly to really understand what the needs are. There is a lot of misunderstanding around children with AD/HD. From my experience, these are all great kids but are sometimes unable to control themselves and find it difficult to concentrate or read body language. This can lead to conflict with others, which often gives them the unfair label of “bad kids”. Communicating with individuals with AD/HD is just like learning a new language – all you need is patience and a willingness to keep trying.” 「疫情嚴重嗰排，我哋都派咗好幾輪防疫物資俾有需要嘅家長。我哋希望佢哋感受到，喺呢段困難嘅日子同理心係要從對方嘅角度出發，諗下佢哋有咩需要，再去提供協助。裡面，有我哋同佢哋一齊面對。對我嚟講，我哋幫人有好多種唔同嘅方式，最緊要係用心同埋開放咁去聆聽，真係去了解對方嘅需要。外界對於AD/HD嘅小朋友有好多誤解。根據我自己嘅經驗，佢哋都係可愛嘅細蚊仔，只係佢哋有時會控制唔到自己，好難集中，或者唔識得解讀人哋嘅身體語言。咁樣令到佢哋比較容易同其他人有衝突，令佢哋好多時被標籤做「壞孩子」，其實係唔公道嘅。同有AD/HD嘅人溝通就好似學一種新嘅語言咁，只要你有耐性同埋願意不斷嘗試，始終會學得識﹗」

“I’ve always had a great connection with kids. I remember when I was volunteering for the hotline, I would really look forward to taking the calls. After a long day of dealing with finances and money all day at work, being able to listen to and help kids with their worries and concerns about friends, family and school was like a breath of fresh air. Children are so authentic – when they’re happy they show it and when they’re sad they can’t hide it. Kids with AD/HD are just the same, they just need a special way of communication. I find so much joy and satisfaction in doing work that allows me to meet others’ needs. Back in the day when I was a kid, we didn’t have much awareness or education around AD/HD. I’m sure there were plenty of individuals who were undiagnosed and misunderstood. Hopefully our work helps to di-stigmatise the condition and create more openness in our community. To me, AD/HD is not really an illness, but a special quality and characteristic – like we all have!”

「我一直都好鍾意同小朋友相處。仲記得喺熱線中心幫手嗰陣，我真係會好期待聽電話。返咗全日工，不停處理啲數字同埋錢銀之後，能夠聽吓小朋友講佢哋啲朋友仔、屋企同埋學校嘅嘢，開解吓佢哋，就好似抖返啖新鮮空氣咁。小朋友真係好簡單，開心唔開心都會俾哂你知，掩飾唔到。有AD/HD嘅小朋友都係一樣，只係佢哋需要一啲唔同嘅溝通方式。能夠喺工作上幫到人，我覺得好開心，好有滿足感。我做細路嗰陣，冇咁多人關心或者認識AD/HD，我可以肯定嗰時有好多人根本唔知自己有呢個情況，但就被人誤解。希望我哋嘅工作可以改變大眾對AD/HD嘅睇法，令到我哋嘅社會變得開放啲。對我嚟講，AD/HD唔算係一種病，而係一種特質，好似我哋個個都有自己嘅特別個性咁﹗」

Want to know more about Hong Kong Association for AD/HD? Click HERE