The first thing I want to say is that it is so nice to hear other peoples stories. I identify with so many of them. I am a 22 year old girl and I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 17. Unfortunately my mother did not like the doctor so we did not go back to him. My school experience was not such a good one. Like many people with ADD, I am quite smart, however my grades were very poor. Report card time was hell. My parents would yell at me and ask me why did I get such bad grades and I would not know what to tell them. All my friends were making good grades and going home and doing their homework right away while I could barely remember what the homework was. I always felt different outside of school too. My sister was making good grades and keeping her room clean and doing her chores and making friends and doing stuff that “normal” kids do.
This obviously made me feel like the black sheep of the family. I just didn’t get it like everyone else. High school and college were the same, I never understood how my friends could do so good and I could do so bad in the same classes. Class lectures were useless to me, 1 minute into the lecture and I was not there. I would come back to reality and realize that I had know idea what the teacher was talking about. My mother is a 3rd grade teacher and was being taught about ADHD and noticed symptoms in me. The point when I new that I had ADD was when I read in a magazine article about these girls with ADD. I felt like I was reading about myself. I have low self esteem and I get depressed and frustrated often. My mom went through Kaiser but they gave her a packet to fill out that only pertained to little boys.
My high school was no help either. My parents know I am smart but they keep watching me not reach my potential. My father thinks that since I know I have ADD, I can just work harder than everyone else to accomplish things. I am an adult now and I need to get help for myself. I am fortunate to have a loving and caring boyfriend to support me. I am in the process of searching for the right doctor/psychiatrist for me. I would love to go back to school but I know I can’t do it until I get some help. Most of the time I feel like I float through life and no one notices me, thanks for listening to my story.