What I Wish I Knew About ADHD As a Kid

I was diagnosed with ADHD in the fourth grade. I don’t remember much about the process other than going to a doctors office that I had never been to before and beginning to take a pill the next day. I don’t remember ever being explained to what the pill was for or why I had to go to that doctor. I believe it was middle school, I can’t remember the exact grade, when I was told that I had ADHD. I remember thinking “Oh that is why I am bad at school” and moving on. I continued to think that way for a long time and I would use it as an excuse as to why I was such a bad student. I wish I would have had someone tell me exactly what ADHD was and how it actually effects me. Here are some things I wish I knew:

1.) That there was nothing wrong with me

I thought something was wrong with me, that I was broken. These thoughts lead to me feeling depressed and unmotivated to do anything. I thought “why even try if I am broken?”. I wish someone would have explained to me that having ADHD was not about something being wrong with you. But in fact that was just a way that I was made differently from other kids.

2.) It isn’t ADHD’s fault

I would blame my ADHD on things. Like forgetting my homework, not doing well on tests, not paying attention in class, etc. Basically anything school related I would blame on my ADHD if I could. I never took responsibility for the things I should have taken responsibility for. I never tried to over come my ADHD because, I didn’t know that was an option.

3.) Why I feel the way I feel

I never understood why my brain felt the way it felt. I was never explained that the hyperactivity part of ADHD can be mental, not only physical. I never know why my brain worked so fast and thought so many thoughts at once. This caused me to day dream when I didn’t even realize I was day dreaming during class. I wish someone would have told me that my brain worked like that, and maybe I could have realized what was happening when it was happening.

4.) Why I had to take a pill

I never really understood why I had to take the medicine other than it was for my ADHD. I wish someone would have explained to me what it was going to, how I could potentially feel on it, and how long it would take me to get used to it. I tried so many different pills at a young age and none of them seemed to work. It was exhausting. I wish someone would have explained why I had to try so many different pills and why they would do what they did.

5.) ADHD is a super power

I wish I knew that at a young age. I wish someone would have told me that despite what I would do wrong, there were so many things I would be great at. I never knew there could be positivity in ADHD until adult hood.