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_{The April 8 panel event is organized by Tech instructor Kinsey Simone, who was diagnosed with OCD as a child.} 

Tennessee Tech University will host a free panel discussion entitled “Mad Topics: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) & Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in  Education” at 6 p.m. Monday, April 8, both in-person and online. Topics will cover what OCD and ADHD look like both generally and within the classroom, supporting those with invisible disorders and locating resources for support, and the lived experiences of adults with OCD/ADHD.

“We can learn more about and become more aware of these disorders, as well as the symptoms and debilitating effects associated with these disorders,” said Kinsey Simone, Ph.D., instructor of educational research methods at Tech. “Through this increased awareness, we can better support those living with OCD/ADHD, even if it is simply through stopping negative stigmas in their tracks.”

Simone knows about those negative stigmas firsthand. She was diagnosed with OCD as a child, and though she was supported at home, she felt she had to hide her struggles when she was in school or out in public.

“I was taught by a therapist to shut my OCD in a door and treat it as ‘bad’,” she said. “It was not until I was earning my master’s degree that a professor’s kindness encouraged me to advocate for those with OCD and to reclaim my disorder as a part of my identity rather than as an enemy.”

She has also run into many people who have a misunderstanding of the disorder.

“I cannot count how many times I have shared with someone that I have OCD and they have responded, 'Oh, I like to organize things too!’ It can be tiring to see my disorder treated as a personality quirk or a condition,” Simone said. “For example, many people do not know that the main characteristics of OCD are constant, intrusive thoughts; because of these, over 2/3 of people with OCD have seriously considered or attempted suicide or self-harm. I have learned to thrive with OCD and see my disorder as a part of my identity and who I am, however, I still have had to overcome challenges associated with my disorder and claiming it as a quirk can minimize those challenges. I have heard very similar shared stories from friends with ADHD.”

One research project Simone conducted around stigmas toward OCD in future teachers showed that 86 percent of pre-service teachers did not believe OCD was even a real disorder, and many believed it was simply a condition or personality quirk. This knowledge and her personal experience of living with the disorder and the stigmas attached lit a fire in Simone to do her part to change things so that those with OCD would not feel like they needed to hide it or apologize for it.

“And of course, this does not just regard OCD,” she said. “I hope that there is a world in the near future where all persons with mental disorders or disabilities can feel like they are not alone or bad, and that they are indeed completely who and where they need to be.”

The idea for the discussion panel came both from her research and from her role as faculty advisor for IMPACT TTU, a student organization stemming from the nonprofit IMPACT Cookeville, whose mission is to positively impact those who are socially marginalized. The event will be hosted by this student organization and sponsored by Tech’s Student Government Association.

“The event is named ‘Mad Topics’ because the topics related will be within the Mad Studies field, or research which examines the lived experiences of people who would have in the past been known as ‘mad,’ such as those with mental disorders or disabilities,” Simone explained.

Joining her on the April 8th panel will be fellow Tech faculty: Edward Beason, Ph.D., assistant director for the Accessible Education Center; Amy Callender, Ph.D., assistant professor of special education; and Leann Taylor, Ph.D., senior lecturer of instructional leadership; along with special guest David Culkin, Ph.D., an educational administrator at the Army University in Kansas and a lecturer at Kansas State University. Moderating will be McClane Oakley, a Tech counseling and psychology graduate student and president of IMPACT TTU; the panel blossomed from Oakley’s idea to hold a mental awareness event through the club on the first official day of spring classes.

“I believe that through hosting an event on OCD/ADHD in education, we can raise awareness, decrease stigmas and increase empathy,” Simone said. “We do not know what we do not know. It’s time to change the narrative.”

The panel discussion is free and open to the public. It will be held in the auditorium in Bell Hall, room 282. RSVPs should be made by Friday, April 5 by filling out the form either for in-person attendance or live-stream attendance. Any in-person attendees who need specific accessibility accommodations can contact Simone at ksimone@tntech.edu.

“I would like to say to anyone who is living with OCD or ADHD or a different disorder or diagnosis, you are amazing and important,” Simone said. “Just because disorders like OCD and ADHD may be ‘invisible’ does not mean that the challenges you have overcome and the successes you have faced in your journey are invisible. I cannot wait to meet you.”

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