According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ” ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.” This is something that I struggle with and I want to share my experiences.
When I was in the eighth grade I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). In my case I am only have slight attention issues, no hyperactivity. I am going to tell some of my experiences dealing with this issue and maybe help some people who fee they are in a similar situation.
In middle school, before I was diagnosed with ADHD, I was having a more difficult time in school than most other kids. I would always get called out is class for not paying attention from most of my teachers. I was never able to stay focused for a whole class period, and some of the teachers just made me feel like I wasn’t as smart as the other. Eventually, I started to go to my councilor to help me organize my schoolwork and make sure I was staying on task. I really appreciated this at the time because I was beginning to feel helpless as my grades were not improving. I was starting to improve slowly, but my councilor and my teachers could tell that there may be something else that is causing my inattentiveness.
I was then sent to the school psychologist. With the psychologist I began to take a series of tests, to see what part I was struggling with in the learning process.
My issue turned out to be a reading comprehension problem. I was having the most trouble retaining the information that I was reading or observing.
This happened over four years ago, but it still affects me today. I take medication, only when I feel it’s necessary, for school and work. Since I am very aware of this issue I am able to notice it quickly and I’m able to get on task quicker.
My way of coping with this can be very different from other. Not everyone deals with this the same way and everyone is in a different situation. So I am going to show some example of how to cope, and you can take whatever information you want from this. According to the CDC “Being healthy is important for all children and can be especially important for children with ADHD. In addition to behavioral therapy and medication, having a healthy lifestyle can make it easier for your child to deal with ADHD symptoms. Here are some healthy behaviors that may help:
- Developing healthy eating habits such as eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and choosing lean protein sources
- Participating in daily physical activity based on age
- Limiting the amount of daily screen time from TVs, computers, phones, and other electronics
- Getting the recommended amount of sleep each night based on age
This is my experience and some recommended ways of coping. Hopefully I am able to help someone or bring more awareness to this issue.