Unapologetically ADHD

So, where to start, logically, that would be when I was diagnosed. This happened when I was a freshman in high school. I do want to point out that I was experiencing ADHD well before I was officially diagnosed with it. The final straw that put me over the edge and for my parents to finally address it was when my dad found me crying on the floor of my brother’s room. I had been there for an hour trying to read a chapter in my history book, but I had not made it past the first sentence of the first page! Though my eyes would be 5-6 paragraphs deep, I had no clue what I had read. It reached a point where I just began crying because it was the most frustrating thing I was having to deal with. I wanted to read and learn, but simply could not.

Interestingly, my dad was a special education teacher. Understanding neurodivergence was a key part of his college education. As I went through the process and learning about it, my father was never a supportive figure. I was just prescribed medication and sent on my merry way. All of the learning and adapting I did on my own, and navigated it through trial and error in a time when I could not tell anyone that I was ADHD. There was a strong stigma attached, and I also didn’t want to deal with people asking me for my medication. It was not until I was in graduate school, working towards my doctorate, that I first confided in two friends I was studying with. I had kept this little fact very close to my chest, even taking my medication so no one would see me. Things have come full circle now, where I am a director and I own ADHD as my superpower. There is more information and knowledge surrounding it, and from these things, I have really started to make sense in my life. Once such an example is how I can hyper focus and get lost in things that I enjoy, but completely ignore and tune out things I have no interest in. I remember my college soccer coach yelling at me during practice my senior year. I had no interest or care in what she was saying. It was during this brief 2-minute tongue-lashing that I planned my entire evening to the minute, with time allocated for driving to the library, homework, studying, dinner, showering, and bedtime. To this day, I have no clue what she was yelling at me for, but I can tell you what my plans were! Oh, and I also remember the feeling I had when I walked away, realizing what had just happened. I laughed and thought about how productive I was. This is ADHD at its finest!