My "stupid" ADHD
I can remember growing up and hearing people saying, Hyperactive? ... "she should be in a special school, she is retarded, she is not like other children" ...
Well I went through nursery school, then on to gr 1 through to the end of Matric and then on to college, without ever failing – with ADHD but because of Ritalin, because of a mother who believed in me and a doctor who knew what he was doing!
2. Impulsivity
3. Distractibility
Well I went through nursery school, then on to gr 1 through to the end of Matric and then on to college, without ever failing – with ADHD but because of Ritalin, because of a mother who believed in me and a doctor who knew what he was doing!
When I started treatment for ADHD people even family stereotyped me and warned my mother about all the bad things regarding Ritalin – well thank goodness it supposedly stunted my growth.
I am a 1.85m tall blonde woman with blue eyes. Addictive it is they would say – Really?!! then why would it only work for 3 hours at a time? And WHY would I not bother to remember to drink my pills on my own??
I am a 1.85m tall blonde woman with blue eyes. Addictive it is they would say – Really?!! then why would it only work for 3 hours at a time? And WHY would I not bother to remember to drink my pills on my own??
ADHD shows up in real life in a vast number of ways, and it’s sometimes hard to recognise the symptoms myself because I was born this way its my “normal”
It has taken many years and some hard knocks to today realise that I am ADHD will always be and that I can either hide and pretend or I can be a voice for the many others out there.
It has taken many years and some hard knocks to today realise that I am ADHD will always be and that I can either hide and pretend or I can be a voice for the many others out there.
It’s been at many times normal or right for me to assume that I can not be the only person where life is really hard, that one person actually struggles to sit still AND focus, listen and or carry out a instruction perfectly, routinely, much less finish what we start in one go.
We are by the way known to be enthusiastic starters and poor finishers because not everything keeps our attention for very long especially if our “problem” goes untreated.
The hardest thing for me is to actually let go of things completely. Growing up and even still today, I dislike change, not knowing and I keep everything, its difficult to throw things out, everything has sentimental value.
But letting go of projects or big dreams is the hardest of all. – I have found myself feeling that I am not enough, that I do not do enough, that I am the cause of everyones problems or that I will never be accepted or fit in – that people think I hide behind myself and that I don’t really have a medical condition.
Ask me about my shortcomings, failings, frustrations, weaknesses… and my ADHD!!
I hated my problem and even more than that I hated having to drink pills - …
I was 4 when my mother took me to the best Doctor and friend I have ever known (His name will be revealed later) – I am now 41
I passed it onto my children and pretended not to see it until my eldest was in his third term in grade 1 …
Its genetic you see, and because of my experiences growing up and still today the last thing I wanted as a mother for my children was the “thing” I had hated most growing up.
How did the teacher convey it to me – by using the 3 main characteristics of Hyperactivity or ADHD which are – and by the way society is very negative when it comes to this…
1. Hyperactivity
2. Impulsivity
Many of the world’s most acclaimed writers and artists are well known for producing their most famous masterpieces in the middle of the night
3. Distractibility
What does this mean really – best example is curiosity – everything and anything that moves interests us …
In my case I was so busy as a small child I didn’t really notice much – it was only once I was on my Ritalin that I noticed things like butterflies – my second sibling showed me things like that – she would take me by the hand or comfort me saying "don’t be scared its only a butterfly".
It is now known that more than 50% of children diagnosed with ADHD as a child will NOT outgrow the condition in their adult years. We are here and we are real, it’s time to shift the old-fashioned school and parenting systems.
It’s time to sit up and take notice, to love our children, siblings, our spouses and our peers and give them the guidance, support and more importantly the right treatment.
It will take time, it will take patience but the journey will never be boring.
On the other side of the fear and negativity you will find a child, a adult a person who is highly intelligent, who loves like no other and who has a fire and a passion for life that many only dream of.
With this blog I want to provide a platform not only as a voice for myself but also for my children, and others out there, as well as parents, teachers and even doctors...
I want to write a book about my own very personal experience with ADHD, containing information that others can relate to. I was of the few minority who had a mother who did not believe the rubbish society tries to force down our throats, the ignorance etc.
She followed her heart she found me the best doctor who knew about my condition and today my life is the better for it. Without her and the expertise of my Doctor, I could have ended up another unnoticed statistic, or even in prison due to my reckless impulsiveness.
Allow me to take you on a journey inside the life of a girl who is now a woman, wife and mother, who has lived her entire life with ADHD, who has hated it and now after many years is embracing the uniqueness and the challenges that people (children and adults alike) face every day!
