Portrait. Stephanie Jackett, President of School Dropout for Children with ADHD

Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity affects 5% of children and 3% of adults. With her organization “ADHD – For Equal Opportunities”, Stephanie Jacket fights against children who suffer from it who drop out of school. (Article first published on January 26, 2023.)

Stephanie Jackett was diagnosed with ADHD while caring for her daughter Pauline. Attention deficit disorder, with or without hyperactivity, affects 5% of children and 3% of adults and is relatively unknown to the general public. This is a neurodevelopmental disorder that sometimes prevents children from following the school curriculum normally.

No matter how hard my daughter tried, she was still very upset. She took all my energy.

Stephanie Jackett, President of the Association “ADHD – For Equal Opportunities”

Women’s Tops – France 3 Hots-de-France

ADHD manifests itself through three symptoms: inattention, impulsivity and sometimes, hyperactivity, although these are not always expressed. Stephanie Jackett explains that there may be a fourth symptom, which is not officially recognized: a disproportionate display of emotions.

For the president of the association, this disorder appeared in his life when his daughter Pauline turned 2 years old: “Already when she was a baby, she would hit me very hard on the changing table. It was my first child. I told myself that maybe it was normal. From the age of 2, there was very strong opposition, incredible hyperactivity. Even though No matter how hard she worked, she was always very angry. She took all my energy. I said to myself, There’s something, but what? I didn’t know.”

Four years later, Stephanie Jackett turned to a child psychiatric service to understand what her daughter was going through. “Adolescent crisis at age 10, but at age 3.

She wondered if she was “doing it wrong”.

Over the years, Stephanie Jackett learns to channel her daughter. At home, he buys a punching bag so Pauline can blow off steam. At school, he is on a strange seat that appears among the classic tables and chairs: a desk bike. Pauline paddles during classes, and it allows her to focus. Stephanie Jackett explains that ADHD children have the same problems at school: “They say to themselves ‘I mustn’t move, I mustn’t disturb the class’, the child focuses on that. With this, the student can exercise and the brain is available to integrate the lesson.”

The organization, chaired by Stephanie Jacquet, promotes these things that drive students to educational institutions. Some colleges in Hauts-de-France have equipped themselves with inner tubes to manipulate desk bikes and other equipment such as legs, elastics, sitting balls so that children with ADHD can move without making noise.

This support is already the first solution in the school environment. Stephanie Jacquet’s organization also helps families who are tired of the disorder affecting their children in their daily lives.

Stephanie Jacket was a guest on the Hots Feminine show on January 23, 2023, which can be seen again above.