I had always been the “lazy” and “slow” sibling in my family. I had to take remedial classes, I had tutors, I just didn’t catch half of what the teacher was saying. They even went so far as to check my hearing. It wasn’t until I got a job on campus at my college as an assistant at the Disabled Student Services center that I learned that ADD even existed. I was photocopying the questionnaire and started to read it. It was like reading my life story. It got to the point to where I was crying, holding this crumbled questionnaire. I sought out the Learning Disabled Counselor who had given me the photocopying to do, and I kept saying, “This is me, this is me.” I’ll never forget her expression. Compassion.
My whole life made sense now, it was like finding a piece of myself that I never knew existed. I was given several tests, including TOVA, and they determined that I had gotten this far without meds, I was in college after all, why not try behavioral modification and see how that goes. Six years later, with a Bachelor of Arts, I am working towards my goal of becoming a writer for television, I recently married, and I have just purchased my first home. There are some days I wish I had opted for medication, but other times I am so glad that the behavioral modification helped me organize my life. Finding out I had ADD saved me.