Local Girl Scout Educates her Community about ADHD
ISABELLE SHARP
Warwick, R.I. (July 18, 2023)—Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England is excited and proud to announce that Isabelle Sharp from Bristol, RI has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. Isabelle’s Gold Award project is titled ADHDmons (Life with an Invisible Disability). Her Gold Award project addressed the lack of information and education about ADHD and similar disorders that are often co-morbidities. Her Gold Award project involved educating her community about ableism and ADHD.
Isabelle created five illustrations to show how she lives with ADHD, including use of accommodations and how she tries to positively react to make others aware of their unintended ableism. She incorporated her illustrations into a slideshow that was used to educate the community including educators, parents, students, and other neurotypical people, as well as the neurodivergent/neurodiverse (ND) community. By creating awareness about ableism surrounding ADHD, it will enable neurotypical individuals to gain empathy for those with ADHD.
Isabelle hopes that her Gold Award project will create a healthier and more understanding community. Individuals who gain this awareness will then help create a change in culture or a way of thinking about ableism and ADHD that will have national and global impact.
“Bringing awareness to ADHD and ableism was important to me because I have felt misunderstood and out of place for most of my life. From elementary school to high school, I did not fit into the neurotypical student mold that most schools’ curricula are built for. Because I excelled academically, I was not diagnosed with ADHD until the end of 7th grade.
Then I was able to get approved accommodations the teachers were required to provide me. Even once I had been officially diagnosed with ADHD and had accommodations approved, it was still difficult for neurotypical individuals to understand that my symptoms manifested because of my ADHD and that I was not choosing to do—or to not do—something.
Thankfully, I had a few teachers who were very interested in learning more about my disorder and even provided additional accommodations to show that I mastered the material.
My parents and I were surprised that some teachers did not know much about ADHD or executive dysfunction which is often caused by ADHD. By bringing awareness to ADHD and ableism to the Bristol-Warren community and the school district, my goal is to help other students find themselves better understood by people who have gained empathy for individuals with invisible disabilities.
A major reason why I chose to attend Syracuse University is its robust Center for Disability Resources and its ADHD/executive function coaching program. I am thankful to be in such an inclusive and accommodating environment, and I hope that my project will help further ADHD and ableism awareness to foster such an inclusive environment in my community and beyond.” said Isabelle Sharp, Gold Award Girl Scout.
About the Girl Scout Gold Award
Since 1916, Girl Scouts have been making meaningful, sustainable change in their communities and around the world while earning this award. The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting, acknowledges the power behind each Gold Award Girl Scout’s dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also to making the world a better place for others. These young women are courageous leaders and visionary change makers. They are our future, and it looks bright!
Isabelle will join the millions of Girl Scout alum around the world who have successfully created, developed, and executed “Take Action” projects that have positively impacted their communities and the world, earning Girl Scouts’ highest award.
According to the Girl Scout Research Institute’s (GSRI’s) report, The Power of the Girl Scout Gold Award: Excellence in Leadership and Life, Gold Award Girl Scouts receive greater lifetime benefits than their peers with regard to positive sense of self, life satisfaction, leadership, life success, community service, and civic engagement thanks to their experience in Girl Scouting, including earning their Gold Award.
When compared to non–Girl Scout alums, Gold Award Girl Scouts soar when it comes to seeing themselves as leaders, providing service to others through volunteerism, and having positive attitudes about themselves and the lives they lead. More generally, over 90 percent of Girl Scouts not only attributed their success in life to Girl Scouts, but they also said they could not have had access to the same experiences anywhere else.
Over the course of the last century, millions of Girl Scout alums have positively impacted their communities and the world with their creative, impactful, and sustainable Take Action projects.
It’s not only Girl Scouts who understand the value of the Gold Award. Some universities and colleges offer scholarships unique to award recipients, and Gold Award Girl Scouts are entitled to enlist in the armed forces at a higher pay grade than individuals who have not earned the award.
Earning the Gold Award is just one of the amazing things girls can do as part of Girl Scouts. To join Girl Scouts or learn more about volunteering, please visit
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