ADHD is the word on everyone’s lips these days. Not just for children anymore, adults with ADHD have begun to talk about their experience with the disorder and how it has affected their lives. Extreme Home Makeover host Ty Pennington is among the celebrities with ADHD who have begun reaching out to today’s youth, speaking freely about the effects of ADHD on his life and how he overcame it to become one of the biggest stars. popular on ABC.
“A generation ago, homeowners who saw Ed McMahon on their doorstep went into hysterics, knowing that a giant check from Publisher’s Clearinghouse would not be far behind. Today, hysteria breaks out with the wide-toothed grin.” instantly recognizable Ty Pennington,” says The ABC Crew.
The energetic young Pennington led the fast-paced world of Extreme Home Makeover to two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Reality Programming and two People’s Choice Awards, and under his leadership, the show has consistently ranked in the top 20 of all television shows since its inception. debut. He is undoubtedly one of the most promising celebrities today. Everyone knows that Ty Pennington’s enthusiastic approach to home improvement has made Extreme Home Makeover a success.
What many people don’t know is that Ty Pennington suffers from ADHD.
“One day my mom sat in the hallway and just cried because I was a bunch and a nightmare,” Pennington recounted during a visit to Sherwood Middle School in Sherwood, Oregon. She spoke to the school’s Bridge Program, a program specially designed for students with mental and behavioral issues like ADHD. The star freely recounted to the class how out of control he was as a child and the effect he had on the people around him.
Ty began displaying ADHD symptoms at a young age.
“I would get naked, swing from the blinds in my classroom as a kid, and swear along with it if I didn’t get my way,” he said in an interview with E! grid.
His mother, Yvonne, adds: “In first grade, he would sling the desk on his shoulders and use it, running around the classroom while the other children laughed. The teachers insisted he was brilliant, but he couldn’t sit still. I was constantly getting calls from the principal’s office. I felt like the worst mother in the world.”
Ty was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of seven; however, because his pediatrician did not approve the treatment of pediatric patients with Ritalin, he was never given medication. Instead, his mother developed a reward system for him known as “A Token Economy”, in which he received tokens for standing still and concentrating in small increments of time. This system kept his ADHD under control until he was seventeen, at which time his doctor encouraged him to try Adderall XR.
Ty Pennington is now a national spokesperson for Shire, the makers of Adderall, and has taken an active role in educating children and their parents about the effects of ADHD. Both he and his mother encourage parents to help their children overcome their disorder and strive for success.
“The very traits that once held Ty back are now his greatest assets,” says Yvonne Pennington, a clinical psychologist who specializes in ADHD and depression. “Many parents in this situation focus on what their children are doing wrong. I encourage them to focus on what they are doing right. Do that and the possibilities are endless.”