College is busy enough for any student.  Add to that, playing college baseball for Stony Brook University, writing children’s books, and also going around to schools to talk with young students about your book and the lessons it teaches about work ethic, resilience, and confidence, and you wonder how Matty Wright finds the time. The 20-year-old also has ADHD, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. He was diagnosed in the fifth grade. He recently visited with students at Silas Wood Sixth Grade Center to talk about how that diagnosis explained a lot to him about some of his behaviors and feelings, and eventually led him to become a children’s book author.

“I always had the urge to write a book. From third grade until senior year when I actually started it. And I'm an athlete, and I was not good in school. There was a point where I didn't want to do school at all. All I wanted to do was play baseball and work on books,” said Matty.

Hyperfocusing on a task or project is a common symptom of ADHD, and the child or adult usually focuses in on something that interests them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates about 11% of children (7 million) in the US have been diagnosed with ADHD. It is also marked by hyperactivity or restlessness, impulsivity, and difficulty listening and following instructions. Not all those with ADHD have all the symptoms.

Matty’s intense interest in writing has resulted in the book “Tip-Off.”  It’s about Jake, a middle-schooler who finds himself on the bench when his team wins the basketball championship. So he decides to work as hard as possible to become a starter next season. But the new kid who moves into town, who also happens to be 7 feet tall, decides he wants that spot, too. Jake makes a good friend and the more they practice together, he learns that working with someone can help you do so much more than you can do alone.

Matty says he didn’t want anyone to think the book was about him. So the sport is basketball, not baseball, and Jake doesn’t wear Matty’s number 13. He didn’t want to write about someone else‘s success and tell kids to do it that way. His message is to teach kids how their own good work ethic and not giving up will result in their own achievements. They were important principles he developed by learning more about his ADHD and how to work with it. “I know myself. I'm bad at everything when I first start.  Like baseball, and even in school. I'm not good at stuff naturally. But if I keep doing it, I’ll figure it out and I’ll get really good at it,” said Matty.

Now, he’s tackling something else that challenges him - public speaking. And he’d like to speak at more schools so he’s hoping for more invitations to talk with students. “I want to help them. As a kid, I struggled, but I also had parents that taught me how to act and just how to cooperate with other people. And having ADHD was a bit of a hindrance for me at times. But I kept trying because the second you give up, it's done,” said Matty.   

The Seawolves Outfielder would like to continue playing baseball as a career - the Majors, the Minor Leagues, even overseas - anywhere they’ll let him play. And he’ll also keep writing books. He’s working on three stories right now, including one that’s about a boy moving into a new town so he has to make new friends. Matty also wants to write a book for people with ADHD.  Matty’s first book, "Tip-Off", is available in large-print paperback on Amazon.  

Thanks, Matty, for helping our students to become even more amazing!

Thank you to Madison Skelton (left), South Huntington’s districtwide Social Worker and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) specialist, for setting up the special assembly and bringing Matty Wright to Silas Wood.