Noticing When Something is Not Right

• I started having trouble in 6th grade
• I was hyper
• When I’m doing my homework
• I was getting in trouble all the time
• Almost gave up in 10th grade

I started having trouble in 6th grade

I started to have trouble in 6th grade.  I hated sitting down for long periods of time.  I never paid attention in school, and all I remember thinking was how many minutes were left in the class period, or the school day, or until I would be able to do something fun.  I could never focus in the moment and always felt as if my mind was running a billion miles a minute. 

–Amy, 23

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I was hyper

I was hyper.  A lot of kids are hyper, but not compared to me.  I’d run around a lot, at school and at home.  I wouldn’t be able to sit down for more than like two minutes at a time. 

– Ryan, 17

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When I’m doing my homework

I’ll be trying to do my homework and I’ll sit there, and it’s not like I’ll do anything other than what I’m supposed to be doing, it’s just that somehow the time passes and when it’s time for me to go and have dinner or something, my homework is not done.  I’ll look back and be like, “Well, why isn’t it done?  I wasn’t doing anything else.”  But it’s just like for whatever reason it just didn’t get done.  But at first it’s always, “I can make myself focus, it’s just a matter of willpower.”  But then when it continues on I realize that it’s not. 

– Stephanie, 16

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I was getting in trouble all the time

Basically during 6th grade I was getting in trouble in school all the time.  I was talking out of turn and yelling and getting in-school-suspension, plus my grades were getting bad.  So then the principal had a meeting with my mom and my mom took me to do testing.  I had to fill out a big questionnaire that I don’t really remember specific questions, and then they diagnosed me with having ADHD.  I kind of understood what it was, but basically I just knew that I had attention problems.

– Will, 23

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Almost gave up in 10th grade

High school was a nightmare— my grades dropped.  During my 10th grade year I became irritable and almost gave up at school.  I did not want to spend my time in a confined space where I could not focus.  I was not interested in learning anything they were teaching me, and I thought it was all boring.  Eventually during 10th grade I visited my doctor who referred my to a psychologist who suggested I had ADHD.  I went though the learning disability tests, and IQ tests and my learning ability was fine I just could not focus.  I didn’t really know what the tests were measuring.  I was never told that part so the only part that annoyed me was they took a long time, but I did get to miss a whole day of school.  The tests were sent back to my psychologist and I was put on Adderall and all of a sudden my performance improved. 

– Amy, 23

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