Personal Narrative: Adult ADD

When I was younger I failed myself and my family when I got held back a grade because I was not showing any progress in any of my subjects. I lost all of my friends, they began to talk bad about me because they thought I was not as Intelligent as they were. This effected me emotionally, I begged my parents not to hold me back a grade and to let me stay with my friends but my parents being tough said no, because school isn't about being close with friends, its about learning and making something of yourself. I learned a very important lesson the day I got held back a grade and that is to never give up and to strive to be the best in anything I do. I also learned that friends come and go, and that I can make more friends. I started studying every

It all started going into State Fair Community College and talking with a counselor. I was nervous at first thinking of all the younger minds fresh out of high school and me having to dig deep in my head trying to remember information from years ago. As I spoke with this lady that was around the same age as me she had said she was looking at going back to school also, right then I felt a little more at ease. I was not the only older person taking classes with the younger kids.

About four years ago, I was just starting my first year of high school. During my previous tenure in middle school, I was basically an average student with multiple C’s and barely passing classes. So when I entered high school, I was not that enthusiastic about it and I continued the trend of not really caring about my grades in the 9th grade. As I became more aware of the opportunities I could get by receiving good grades, I began to actually care more about school and tried to get good grades. I began to do something that I never did before,

After high school my main focus went into finding a full time job to support myself and my family. I started a family early and I tried to take college

When I decided to attend a community college and begin a career in business I was in my thirties.

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was around ten years old, but I was not informed of this until the end eleventh grade, when I accidentally stumbled upon the information. I have trouble controlling my focus and completing work in a timely manner, particularly with essays and I occasionally have trouble following along during class lessons, especially with math. I have always had high expectations for myself in school, but had difficulty producing work that displayed my mindset. This was frustrating because I spent twice as much time on homework than my classmates, but still found myself behind on assignments. I always completed my homework, however, the late penalties I often received greatly impacted my grades each year. My parents told the

I was out of place, a quiet girl whose clothing was obviously not fashionable, lucky if she had a bag lunch, and no reason to be confident. I was picked on relentlessly by others who recognized an easy target. My chaotic home life was never conducive to good grades, or school for that matter. No one I knew was a role model and no one volunteered to step up to be one. With no social life and a toxic home life, my grades plummeted before they had a chance to climb.

My Junior Year of high school just recently started. I have learned so many different things while attending high school, and still have over a year to learn even more. As Matthew Kelly said, “whether you are sixteen or sixty, the rest of your life is ahead of you. You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future.” This means while I have done a lot in my past, I cannot change anything that has already happened, but I am able to change my future. One of the most important things that I am involved in right now is school. My first two years at CBHS were good, and I made decent grades. Some of the grades that I made I am not very happy with now but I cannot change that so I need to focus on my grades right now because those are the ones I can change.

I have faced many different challenges in my life. The most significant and most difficult challenge is living with attention deficit disorder. I was diagnosed with ADD around the time I entered the fourth grade. I always knew I had the potential to do well like all the other kids, but for some reason I just couldn’t. After years of constantly getting distracted at every little thing, getting yelled at for being a distraction to the other children, and struggling to get through class everyday, I was given a little blue pill called Adderall to help me. It was like a light came on in my head. I still got distracted and lost all my energy sometimes, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as before. Being medicated helped me feel normal, but at the same time made me feel like I was different. As a kid I figured none of the other students had to take a pill to fix their brain like I did. I constantly put myself down

Many characteristics isolate me from the rest of my peers, but my learning disorder has been a burden to my life ever since I was born. While some of my classmates absorb information with simplicity, I sit behind them lost and confused. I have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, more commonly known as ADHD. Although learning is not easy for me, it has given me the ability to find alternative paths to overcome obstacles.

Despite my good grades, school made me miserable. Every assignment that I submitted made me sick to my stomach with worry. The possibility of my work not being good enough for the teacher concerned me, as well

“SAIL!... Blame it on my ADD!” This line from an alternative rock band’s hit song was what I let define my life for the longest time, or at least with its disorder cousin, ADHD. From the age of 9 I hid behind this disorder as the absolute excuse as to why I couldn't. From a life of dealing with ADHD I learned that I can't do this anymore and that my disorder gave me no excuse to fail or to not succeed at something. That just because something is hard or unfair doesn't give you an excuse not to do it.

This last year has been a rough one for me, mentally and physically. The beginning of the school year I was dealing with some medical issues, which were preventing me from attending my classes. It’s a gastral and thyroid problem that causes me to vomit frequently. I have been having this problem for the last year or so, but it had been progressively getting more intrusive. I'd wake up every morning either light headed or nauseous. Some days I would power through it and go to classes; others I could barely pull myself out of bed. I have a very independent personality, so I didn’t go to the doctor until it got significantly worse. I have attached a copy of my discharge papers from the hospital. My health is still an issue I am dealing with, but I am taking medication and have a health plan in place with my doctor. So far I have yet to experience the vomiting that was once a daily occurrence.

The transition from middle school to high school was difficult for me. I’d gone to very a progressive middle school where the students basically got to choose their own curriculum. I’d never had grades or a standard structure of any kind to measure my academic performance. Saint Mary’s, my high school, is college prep so the teachers move quickly, I am graded on everything, and expectations in general are much higher. For all of ninth grade I felt like I had been tossed into the deep end without knowing how to swim, and my grades reflected that mentality. Summer before tenth grade, I knew I couldn’t continue performing so poorly, so I began to study and to try and get a jump start on the next year’s curriculum. When school started I put much

Looking back over the last couple of years, I have noticed that my life has changed drastically. After I gave this change some thought, I came to the conclusion that going to college at an earlier age has brought this change. I have noticed that I am more mature and aware of what goes on at school; I spend more time working on my future career than I do anything else, and I am a better student academically.