Welcome to the first introductory lesson in our series: ADHD in Spanish.

What you are about to hear is a clinical encounter in Spanish about a girl who is diagnoesed with attention deficity hyperactivity disorder / ADHD (trastorno de déficit de atención con hiperactividad / TDAH en español). The original dialogue was written in English by a listener, Dr. Craig Horn. Dr. Horn is a pediatrician who serves patients with ADHD. He shared the following with me in an email.

“Philosophically, ADHD can be a beautiful gift of high energy  and creativity when developed properly.  ADHD is not a disease but simply who we are. I think the medical/psychiatric model of ADHD as a disease state is hurtful.”

I hope you find this perspective as helpful as I do as you learn more and talk to people about ADHD in Spanish.

We put together today’s dialogue while studying at the San Pedro Spanish School in Guatemala. My friend Sonja Um-Siri (an interpreter) translated the clinical encounter on ADHD into Spanish with her teacher Francisco González Yojcóm. Then, we recorded the encounter with Francisco, my teacher, Elizabeth Cortez, and Eliza’s daughter, Nicole.

LEVEL – UPPER INTERMEDIATE 

• 1:43 Saludos
• 1:59 Problemas en la escuela
• 3:06 Notas y comportamiento
• 4:04 ¿Te metes en problemas?
• 4:41 Dificultades en prestar atención
• 5:32 Problemas para dormir
• 6:15 A continuación