Jérôme Bordeleau
Polyvalente de L’Ancienne-Lorette

Learning to live with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder would be a daily challenge for anyone but it is even harder for a child and this is something Jérôme Bordeleau, a Secondary 5 student at the Polyvalente de L’Ancienne-Lorette, knows something about. Ever since elementary, he has always been a brilliant student but he long suffered from prejudice, prying stares and rejection. Then one day he decided he’d had enough and needed to face the music. He turned his involvement in various projects into a source of motivation to improve his interpersonal skills… and perseverance became his most valuable asset.

“In elementary school, I simply couldn’t make contact with other people. I’d challenge my teachers and in the schoolyard I was always isolated from the others. And it wasn’t easy when I started high school either, that is until I decided to seek the help and tools I needed to find the strength to overcome my difficulties and continue to do well at school,” Jérôme recounts.

Even though the 17-year-old has now learned to accept his situation, it remains nonetheless an ongoing battle. People suffering from an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder often get distracted, become anxious or overexcited and are prone to mood swings and at times aggressive behaviour. The ideal cocktail for getting cast aside by one’s classmates.

Aware of his condition, Jérôme decided to take more drastic measures. To help him cope with his problems, he voluntarily consulted psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers. And to provide himself with even more incentive and the means to better interact with others, he established a Dungeons and Dragons group at school of which he then became the host. It was an instant success and enabled him to establish his first real circle of friends.

Buoyed by this social accomplishment, he then joined the Sentinelles de l’aide group at school. Made up of students in Secondary 3, 4 and 5, the group aims to help Secondary 1 students integrate more easily. By taking on the role of resource person, Jérôme was able to play an active part in school life and this was also very beneficial to him.

His commitment to Jeuness’Action, a discussion group that touches on topics relating to teenagers, is another fine example of Jérôme’s perseverance. And then there’s the homework support group, which enabled Jérôme to share his academic knowledge with other students, as well as the Réveillon de l’Amitié event, where he worked as a volunteer organizing a festive evening during the Christmas holidays for people in his community who were all alone.

Moreover, Jérôme has been a member of the Cap-Rouge scouts for the past eight years, something that has largely contributed to making him the young man he is today. In addition to volunteering at such events as the Québec Winter Carnival, Vélirium and Découvr’Art, he helped organize an expedition to the Grand Canyon and ten national parks in the southern United States. “The trip’s success opened my eyes to enriching experiences and the fact that I could develop friendships outside of school. It was also the scout movement that encouraged me to socialise more and incited me to launch into community involvement and extracurricular activities,” he asserts.

As well as fulfilling his need to be active and make himself useful while continuously looking to improve his social relations, Jérôme also gave concrete expression to his ecological side by taking part in the Earth Day event where, along with other young people, he helped promote community involvement. On several occasions, he also participated in riverbank clean up projects in the area.

“I have always performed well at school but if I hadn’t used my involvement as a source of motivation and a means of making contact with others, I would never have been able to keep the pace. Over the past few years, I have worked hard to always stay on good terms with my friends. I when I feel I’m losing my grip, I quickly try to regain control and put into practice the tools I have learned to use. I am quite proud of the progress I have made,” he admits with a smile.

Jérôme Bordeleau
Polyvalente de L’Ancienne-Lorette