Rick Green is used to being told that he should try harder - and says it doesn't really help.
The comedian, a longtime Waterdown resident, shared his experiences with ADHD at a fundraiser for the Centre for Diverse Learners (CDL) at the Burlington Golf and Country Club Thursday evening (Sept. 26). The event featured prizes, informative discussions and dinner. It was also a fundraiser to increase the number of students whom CDL, a non-profit organization that provides programs and information to neurodivergent children, can support through their programs.
Green, who is most well-known for co-creating and co-starring in The Red Green Show, was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 47 and has spent the past 20 years sharing information and support with people while spreading his story of how difficult life can be as a child with ADHD.
“Growing up, the only advice we get is ‘try harder,’” Green said. “As if we’re not trying as hard as we can already. As if we’re not working our hearts out and still failing, and we don’t know why. We’ll talk about why, but that ‘try harder’ advice is so hard and so useless, and eventually when we try hard enough, we give up.
"Someone with ADHD hears negative feedback, by the time they get to adulthood, 20,000 more times than their peers.”
Green brought several of his elementary school report cards as part of his presentation, reading comments from past teachers saying that he needed to pay more attention and work on his writing skills.
The comedian also spoke about the different types of neurodiverse individuals and the ways he learned to deal with his own differences.
“When you find out what’s going on, you figure out your own flavour,” he said. “Every one of us is different. We may fall under a specific label, depression, anxiety, but everyone has their own little nuances and tweaks to it.”
Green and his wife, Ava, have created multiple shows, programs and resources about neurodiversity, including the TotallyADD website, short videos on neurodiversity and two programs titled ADD & Loving It?! and ADD & Mastering It!
Some 100 people attended the fundraiser and could donate to CDL in multiple ways, including a silent auction, a raffle and a coin-flipping game for prizes. Some of the prizes from the auction were a soccer ball signed by the Forge FC team, tickets to see the Toronto Maple Leafs, a $500 wine tasting in Niagara-on-the-late and a one-week vacation to a cottage in Ellicottville, NY.
The organization was hoping to raise $10,000 during the event, which would be enough to provide programs for all 20 children currently on the CDL’s wait list.
Carolyn Rankin-Boutin, executive director of CDL, spoke about the importance of the work they do in the community.
“When we use the word neurodiversity, we don’t decide who that is,” she said. “If our programs can help a child, then we want to help that child. When we did a study on the effectiveness of our program, our eight-week math program, on average, led to eight months of skill and knowledge growth. Our program works, and if we want to support students and our community for the long-term, we need to support the work that CDL does right now.”
To find out more about CDL, visit their website: diverselearners.ca.
