Three Indian American Teens from Illinois Successfully Start 'Project A Squared' to Raise Awareness of ADHD

Riya Khandelwal and her co-founders - Meha Krishnareddigari and Gulnaaz Sayyadhave- have worked over the past year and a half to raise awareness and encourage conversations regarding ADHD.

FREMONT, CA: With the aim of raising awareness of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD, a group of Indian American high school seniors from Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, has started an organization.

Riya Khandelwal and her co-founders - Meha Krishnareddigari and Gulnaaz Sayyadhave- have worked over the past year and a half to raise awareness and encourage conversations regarding ADHD. They have also become official ambassadors of CHADD, a nationwide organization dedicated to helping those with ADHD and their loved ones.

Khandelwal remarked that even though they have some basic insight regarding ADHD from their health classes or personal experiences, they do not have an adequate understanding of the sheer vastness of the condition itself and the sufferings of those who have the conditions and its counterpart, ADD. According to her, 8.4 percent of children and 2.5 percent of adults have ADHD, and the numbers are only rising. Having said that, one in every four people is still undiagnosed, implying that the condition is vastly underdiagnozed.

The mission of Project A², or Project ADHD Awareness, is to combat the stigmas associated with ADHD and explore the different ways to increase awareness and speak on behalf of the people who are diagnosed with the condition. The project has a target demographic of 10-15 years of age to make sure that the next generation of adults can understand the concept of this misunderstood condition to avoid bullying it and instead diagnose and treat it in the future.