Ty Pennington: Harnessing The Power of Celebrity For ADHD
BySay what you will about celebrity news, sometimes a good cause can use the publicity generated from a celebrity spokesperson. New Orleans reconstruction has Brad Pitt. Parkinson Disease has Michael J. Fox.
But how many in the general public know about Adult ADHD? Until now that is! Because Ty Pennington of ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition has recently announced the establishment of a $10,000 scholarship to be awarded to an adult with ADD/ADHD.
Yes! I found it pretty amazing too and a breath of fresh air.
The award is called ‘Daily Successes with ADHD Scholarship. It’s presented to an adult with ADD/ADHD who is entering a creative pursuit of study at Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. The student needs to be currently enrolled in the school, applying to it or enrolled in the graduate program.
The scholarship, by the way, is sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Shire, and the timing of the announcement (not surprisingly!) is tied to the company’s introduction of its medication VYVANSE for the treatment of adults with ADD/ADHD.
Pennington, by the way, is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, the location of the school and has ADD/ADHD himself.
Say what you will about the giant drug companies – we all have our opinions. Even if you are hesitant about Pennington’s tying his announcement of this scholarship to the release of a new medication for ADHD, it has allowed the general public to at least be aware of the existence of adult ADHD. And that’s a good thing – if only a first step!
If you’re an adult suffering from this disorder, it’s nice to be able to look at Ty and say ‘He succeeded, and so can I.’ And if you’re the parent of a child with ADD/ADHD, Ty becomes an important role model. The next time you and your child see him on TV, you can tell your child,’Ty Pennington has ADD/ADHD and he’s no failure. You can be as successful as you want to be!’
Yeah, perhaps celebrity news isn’t all bad after all.
It would be great if we could get some more celebrities to share their successes (and personal struggles) with ADHD.
Dr. Kenny
Here’s a Youtube video of Ty talking about ADHD, as well as the scholarship:
My daughter has ADD/ADHD and is a senior in high school. I was wondering if there is any scholarships for her? She is planning to go to the University of Texas at El Paso in the Fall of 2009. I would appreciate any information on this scholarship.Thank you so much
Esther Allcock
Hello, I am currently attending at pittsburgh institute of aeronautics, and i had been diagnosed with ADD when I was in the fourth grade. Are there any scholar ships for some one who wants to attend a different school than the one mentioned in the Ty Pennington article?
dear ty pennington i am somebody who has aspergers syndrome i was diagnosed with the condition when i was 15 years old. i am co chair of the autism stratergy steering group here in grimsby and we support adults with an asc the meetings are run bi monthly here in grimsby. i say to myself i would love to have a massive new office so we can support adults with autism i live in grimsby. my office is to small to hold everything and when i see ur extreame home makeovers i think i wish that could be me but where would we build it as it would need to be in a location in grimsby that would be the right type of location for an office and i would love ur team to create and build it anf fund it thank you sara scrimshaw
Sara,
Thank you for your blog comment. Just to let you know, Ty will not see this blog comment unless he searches for it in google… So, if you want to ask him for help, you’ll need to find a different place to do so. Good luck and keep up the great work!