Tell Me You Have ADHD Without Telling Me You Have ADHD - The Signs From School Years
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ต.ค. 2024
- Hello, Brains! I recently asked my community, "What were some signs you had ADHD when you were in school?" There were so many great responses but here are some of my favorites!
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Jessica McCabe is not a licensed mental health provider, but information presented on How to ADHD is reviewed by researchers and approved by licensed clinical psychologist Patrick LaCount, PhD (practicalpsych...). While information presented on How to ADHD has historically been built in consultation with researchers and licensed providers, videos posted prior to April 2023 were not subjected to the same formal approval process required by the TH-cam Health program.
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I don't know if I'm ADHD specifically. But I do know what one of the kindest things a college professor said to me was. When a classmate tried to rat me out for writing my paper the night before, he just looked at them and said "she may not have written a word until last night, but she has been working on it in her head for weeks." I felt so relieved that, even though my process was different than my classmates', that was ok.
That was a hater. Lol
I have done that so many times!
That college profesor sounds god send. I can relate to your work process and am thanking your professor for puttting words to process I find mysfelf to often.For somehtings I really need to write/process in my head (for the amount of time it takes) before I put anything on paper. Just realised a couple of years ago (I am 46) that is not procrestination even it can look like it from the outside (and internalised otuside viev, if that make sense :):
I feel seen.
I truly appreciate you reminding us that “the inconsistency IS the disability”.❤
The inconsistency seems to be the only consistent thing about it, really 😅
"You can't finish this project in a day, start on it early"
-Challenge accepted because it has never been a problem before
After no support with ADHD in school, I'm currently an adult learner at a college awaiting an ADHD diagnosis and they have offered me a support person who specifically specialises in ADHD! As well as being allowed to get up and walk around, extra time, use of a computer in an exam and thr ability to pause the clock! In my conversation they mentioned how I had so many strategies, and you're the reason why! Thank you for keeping me afloat🙂
Aw thank you for saying that!! I needed that today 🥰
I didn't suspect I have ADHD until I was in my 30s... before that I thought I was lazy and foolish and that's why I dropped out of uni and underachieved evwrywhere. I _am_ lazy and foolish but that's not why I struggle 😄
I never even thought of letting my College know as an adult...
I would read ahead, and then get lost and then be behind 😂
As a teacher, thank you for educating me about students playing with things in the drawer! I’ll give those students some quiet fidget toys instead of taking away their baskets in the drawers as I always do.
Thank you for caring!!
Thank you for recognizing an action that could change to better help students! ❤
I have found different ribbons or haberdashery items can act as a quiet fidget. I love the feeling of satin or velvet, so that might also work for some students.
@@randomname1152 I second this! Also marble meshes/boinks, crocheted pop-its (WAY quieter than the silicone ones), and those little flippy ones made out of bike chain. Those are some of my favorite quiet fidgets.
@@randomname1152grosgrain ribbons (the ones with ridges running short ways) are a great texture for fidgeting. Satin ones too if you need it to be smooth
I can tell you did get sad reading about the forgetfulness by the tone of your voice 😢 it really is one of the hardest things to overcome for me because it makes me look like I don’t care at times
same!! it's one of the biggest misunderstandings I have to combat, we DO care we just struggle sometimes
@@HowtoADHD Yeah, I still carry an imprint of a fight with my mom decades ago because I f.cking forgot to look at the date and it was her birthday. I knew it, I just didn't realize it was already that day. Still haunts me. Happened again with my husband's bd last year. At least he's the same brain and knows I do care.
@@the_ecips9692❤
"Reading everything, unless it's for an assignment", same here. The only teacher who understood/appeared to understand was my Year 10 English teacher Mr Anderson. Everyone in the class had to read x number of pages of any book, and write about it in a "reading journal". I did the reading, but not the writing. Everyone who hadn't done it got detention. In detention I was the first person he asked "Why didn't you do it?" - "I did, I read xyz, I just didn't write about it" - "Ok, tell me what happens in xyz"... After about a minute of me monologuing in detail about whatever book it was, he stopped me and said "I believe you, you can go" . After that I never once wrote in the journal and he never gave me detention for it again, he would just check in to see what/if I was reading, bless him
oof, I go further ... I read a LOT... but not for assignments... IF I did manage to read something for an assignment, I'd forget what I read...
I feel personally attacked by "reading constantly until it was for a grade", because how else did I get so thoroughly clocked at such a distance? 🤣😭
Edit: AND THE DAMNED BACKPACK FULL OF FINISHED BUT FORGOTTEN ASSIGNMENTS. STOOOOOOOOP. 💀
Me too! I would read 20 books a week in summers but you couldn't MAKE ME read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Six weeks dragging it out.
@@turnoffthetv I once wrote 40 pages of a fanfiction (never completed it of course) instead of learning for my exams... 🥴😵
I, unhh, clicked on your video while I was watching your video... restarting the video. 🤔
I literally just did the same and then saw this comment 🤣
22-year-old me flunking out of a grad program on a project I wasn't super excited about and had NO support with vs 32-year-old me graduating with a Masters degree with a 4.0 on a project I came up with myself (and was super excited about) and asking for (and getting) the support I knew I needed by then.
This!
Im 14, living in the uk and I me and my dad have strong feelings that I have adhd, but the waiting lists here are very long, shortage of medication and not enough research in girls and I don’t get support, but your videos help me manage my room and my mind so much better. Thank you
As a fellow ADHD Brit, but older than you, it's awesome to hear you have this sort of self-awareness during your school years, for me it didn't come until well after completing university! But agreed, the NHS waiting lists are absolutely dire as a result of under-funding for years. If your family is lucky enough to afford a private assessment then I can absolutely recommend taking that route. A good NHS GP and specialist should be willing to accept a private diagnosis with only a little work to make sure the private doctor was working in good faith (sadly there are some who don't work in good faith). You may then be able to get NHS treatment without waiting through the queue for an NHS diagnosis/assessment
This is completely un-related to the video, but anyways
I've been trying to write short stories for about 5 years but every single time i would get distracted with another idea and give up on the story, which would then inevitably happen to the new idea.
Finally after about 35(ish) stories, I finally manged to finish one!
It's about 2000 words long and I'm so proud of it!
That's my achievement for the week.
That's so relatable - congrats on finishing one! 🥳
That's just sooo me, it makes me cry...
I fu....ing want to finish ANYTHING!
I play the piano for 7 years now, and i still cant play a single piece start to end ...
I can play the first 30-60sec of around 20 pieces but thats it. 😞😞😞
Hooray! Super proud of you!
That my friend is worthy of a year achievement!!! Or life. I am so so so proud of you!!!! Im yet to finish a painting haha
Realizing in the gifted program that I forgot the homework assignment (as always) about personal goals and, as homework was being collected, I scribbled “My goal is my wish that I could remember homework assignments.” Took another 20 years to be diagnosed ADHD. 😅
i was wishing for that feeling which guaranteed me good grades on exams. I never could reliably get there and got reinforcement after reinforcement about my observations. And it wasnt confidence. It was just a flow.
The punishing and singling kids out because of their energy/constant questioning- that spoke to me. Yes! I wasn’t a bad kid, I was unsocialized with other kids my age and punished for what resulted. Time outs, red cards, being moved, being told to stop asking questions- I could have been such a more confident person long term.
It’s amazing how your perspective changes when you’re told you’re not broken, you’re different.
Also when the teacher's open annoyance at being asked questions encourages the rest of the class to start rolling their eyes and making snide comments until you're shamed into no longer asking questions and spend the rest of the year in class pleasure reading instead of bothering to get invested in the presented material.
excitedly raising my hand in class when i heard only one word the teacher said and my brain filled in the rest. the teacher didn't ask a question or ask for volunteers, but i was super ready for what i thought was going on.
Omg that's so relatable!!
Yeahhh I will randomly say things that I think is the answer even when the teacher is still talking
In my college history class this is hard because I get stuff wrong like 50% or more of the time and the professor sometimes stops the listen because they think I have a question
Yes in nursing school I was punished for asking questions and only allowed 2 per class I felt so ashamed ( I was a 40 year old and unaware I had ADHD)
Agggh so many of these are so relatable. Another one: asking for help from the teacher (usually for math), getting a good, patient explanation, thinking, "Oh, I get it now!", and then immediately forgetting that flash of insight when it came to doing the problems on my own.
Yes. Omg. I even attended after school math help sessions and would STILL completely forget by the next day. 😅
Absolutely this one. A sizeable part of why doing homework was like nailing jello to a wall. I couldn't remember how to do the work outside the classroom.
Mine: getting notes on my report cards about how well I revise my essays when I know I've only written one draft and I finished it at 2AM the night before
Smooth bus rides and spare periods are also handy for finishing assignments at the last minute.
@@charlespentrose7834 Absolutely. Also lunch breaks if the assignment is for an afternoon class
You actually wrote a draft? I couln't bring myself to waste time writing it "wrong" and then doing it again; most I'd do was make a scribbled outline for myself (with crossings out and arrows redirecting paragraphs elsewhere) and edit as I wrote my "final" essay.
Not studying for a test but figuring out the answers during it. I've derived formulas during exams just based on what units I needed for the response.
Yes! I never ever studied, did homework, or even went to class a lot of the time, but I consistently got As on tests - especially multiple choice tests. Part of it was simple process of elimination, but quite often it was entirely based on vibes.
@@kittykittykitty883 once i was in the middle of a end of year standardized test, and got about halfway though and a switch flipped in my brain and i just could not care anymore aobut this test so i then switched to making patterns on the answer sheet, they made me retake the test -_- after a parent teacher meeting where the teacher pointed out the exact place where i "stopped trying"
It me! I got a C in high school physics, not because I didn't understand the material, but because I couldn't memorize the formulas. I could derive them, but we weren't given time to do that. You either had instant recall of them to solve the problem, or you didn't finish the test.
always hated that dimensions were taught as something that we needed to remember to write, like a chore, but not as the insanely useful tools they are.
@@priestessaranel the neurotypicals are not ready for us
The locker code thing doesn't go away - it just becomes staring at the keypad on your apartment building's laundry room door, where your laundry is currently in the machines, and being completely unable to remember the code that you obviously knew 20min ago when you brought your laundry in the first place. (I keep the code saved in my phone for when this happens. Just gotta hope I remembered to bring my phone...)
I realized years ago that muscle memory and regular memory were different. If I knew that I had entered a code or password a hundred times already, I would close my eyes and try to let my hand start entering it. It worked about 70% of the time.
I'm 65 yrs old and retired computer programer. I learned early on in my ADHD world, when I can't remember something to stop thinking about it. LOL I would distract myself by thinking about something else. Magically, the thing I couldn't remember I suddenly remembered. I forget how to code something, think about driving home. Forget someone's name, look at their shoes. Forget the combination to a lock, quietly hum a song. Do anything I can to distract myself and 🎉 I remember. Suddenly, I'm distracted from my distraction by the memory of what I forgot.
I'm in big trouble if I ever get dementia. 😂
Yeah, in elementary school, I was put in a makeshift cubicle to isolate me and reduce the distractions I caused. My schooling was a product of my time, where the nail that stuck out got hammered down 😢 someone explained ADHD multitasking as being an octopus. For a task that takes two arms, you have to give the other arms something to do or they will distract the working arms.
That is a brilliant and accurate way to describe it!
"The number of times I avoided a reading assignment by reading something else" is SUCH HIGHLY RELATEABLE CONTENT.
Yeahhh I would so rather read website than have my history textbook read to me
A common thing I heard was stop doing that and pay attention.
I literary got my head put under running water in 1st grade because of it. I think that is my earliest memory of something I now know was a sign of ADHD (diagnosed last year, 36 years old, so that is 30! years ago).
That might as well be my legal name... lol
@@Timelog88 Whoa! I know you said it was 30 years ago, but that still sounds like something that should not have happened!
I got similar! Mine was always "are you listening/paying attention?" To which the answer was....technically yes, but I'm not processing a single thing I'm hearing.
Every SINGLE report card containing some variation of "she's very bright but could achieve more if she focused"
Every teacher assessment in elementary school:
he has potential but doesn't apply himself
he has potential but doesn't apply himself
he has potential but doesn't apply himself
he has potential but doesn't apply himself
Where did you find my report cards?
This hurts to remember
That one was the one that bothered me the most. I've talked about it in therapy😢 bad enough from teachers, then relentlessly repeated by family. We just apply ourselves differently. Hang in there, we got this
coupe of things I remember from school: being more focused on 'focusing on the teacher' than actually focusing on the teacher; always being told in my report cards and parent-teacher evenings that I needed to apply myself more; writing things in my school homework diary right at the moment it was assigned but then forgetting about it for like a week or two, and my mum would ask me if I had anything due for my next class in whatever subject it was and I'd go "I don't know". Bonus points for writing out my homework assignments on the wrong due date, or forgetting what my shorthand meant and having to actively go back through my memory to figure out what 'happy dagger essay' meant
I've recognised a lot of ADHD traits in myself watching your videos for the last seceral months but this video made me cry at all the painful school memories that I had suppressed.
Thank you.
Your videos made me seek a diagnosis, i've met with a psychologist, now i'm waiting for a doctor appointment, the more i learn about adhd the more i see similarities of it in my own life and struggles and i've realised ppl don't think like i think, thx ❤
Oh gods these were all so relatable. Maybe not so much school related, but i absolutely THRIVED in Air Cadets as a kid for the 2 years I went. The rules were explicitly laid out, there was no room for misinterpretation, everyone was the same, so i could blend in for once. At summer camp I could actually stay organized, because you only had certain items with you, AND the systems to STAY organized were already in place!
I was also on Wellbutrin at the time when i was that age (13-14), so maybe that had something to do with it as well a little bit.
But we got to go gliding all the time, my second year, I got to be the copilot and fly with the captain. It just ticked all the right dopamine boxes. I'm nowhere near athletic, never have been, yet I still went and did drill team and biathlon.
As for the education aspect: Struggling in school, but eventually managing to get into college. When I do, and got accommodations for the first time in my life, all of a sudden things are not a ginormous struggle, and I'm maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
In 9th grade I had a teacher who take any assignment with no penalty as long as it came in before the end of the quarter. The day before the end of the quarter I’d turn in 90% of the assignments we’d had, turned out to be my best class cause I could actually work on my own schedule
Oh, teleportation is my most wished for superpower. When people debate flight or invisibility, I always choose teleportation.
Mine would be time control!
I could just stop all other time, till I am finished with whatever I need to do/want to do/should have had ready some days ago…
Ah well, actually, nevermind.
I would go totally insane managing real time/slowed down or stopped time…. And remembering to eat and stuff😅
My dentist probably wishes I could teleport. I am always late no matter how much I try not to be :/
Yeahhhs I like that teleporting to places you have been physically before would be great and not super overpowered
@@MsDogleaf I always liked the nightcrawler ability. He only teleports to places he can see. But he can do it over and over to travel very quickly.
@@Sam_on_TH-cam I have thought about it’s cool but has dowside of traveling at night or long places
8:15 And because of this, I now overcompensate for my time myopia by showing up at least 30 minutes before I need to be somewhere because I can never figure out how long it'll take to get anywhere so I leave early because it's better to be earlier and wait than to be late and face the consequences of that lateness.
This is so helpful. I am an elementary ESL Teacher who recently found out, has ADHD. I feel like smacking my head because I haven’t done a better job accommodating my students who have ADHD. Thanks for any ideas you have! I’ll put them to good use!
Discussion at 6:40 "Yes, do that, do that again! Without realizing the cost.
Thank you so much for putting this into words! I feel seen! When things were going badly for me, I would suddenly pull off a magic trick. Like doing a great job on the final project to help offset the rest of the semester.
“The inconsistency *is* the disability” oh my GOD this is such a good way to put it. It doesn’t seem to matter how hard I try to be on time for things, the effort put into something seems to have no effect on whether or not I succeed.
I was talking with my friend about this since it’s putting strain on our relationship, and when I told her my grip on time is not something I’m really able to control she said “oh, so you’re just not going to try anymore?”
I didn’t even have words to further explain myself that was so jarring and hurtful. She didn’t even see how it could be hurtful since she was only seeing the effect and not the immense amount of work I am always doing to just be on time HALF the time.
My family nickname was Jessica-go-to-bed. I always got in trouble for talking in elementary school. During middle school I was absent an average of 1 day per week from missing the bus, sleeping in or deciding I didn't feel like it. By high school, I was pulling all nighters for every paper & did homework only while physically in school but graduated with honors. Abject fear of failure is the only way I managed productivity.
Hard relate
I loved the large auditorium classrooms in college because I could do homework while listening to instructor. It actually made me retain both better. And was time effective so I could take that afternoon nap (if schedule allowed).
Reading yes I will read everything until it was an assignment. The homework was always done in the class before. Essays staying up the night before. But every teacher thought every essay was the best. Had to repeatedly teach the rest of the class the info for the essay. Assignments never turned in. Every planner was done for 1 week and then forgotten until the middle of the next year and thrown away. The shoes,🤣was walking at someones house and saw MY SHOES. I thought "those look like mine." They were. I had taken them off without realizing it. When I started college, I wrote out how much time I needed to work, study, school, travel, gym, everything. Came up with needing 26 hours a day. Close enough, I then couldn't figure out why I was not able to live this. Went back, FORGOT SLEEP. When my son was little like two, people would come up and ask me if I had tested him for ADHD. "Sweetie all two year olds have ADHD." When he was seven, his teacher recomended, I then had him tested. After he was tested, I explained to him what ADHD was. He thought for a second and said, "You have ADHD." I was originally diagnosed by a seven year old.
Oh my God! That's the most honest feedback I think you've probably ever gotten! Was that a confusing thing but at the same time a relief to hear from him? When he said that, did it all click into place?
My wife and I are both high-“functioning” ADHD but we didn’t find out until our daughter was diagnosed at 6 and the doc was asking about family history and was explaining behaviors to watch for
I was 35 yrs old. I am sitting in a counselor office with my 9 yr old son and my wife. Counselor explaining why he believes my son is ADHD. I noticed a couple of fun looking puzzle gadgets on the table next to my chair. I picked one up to check it out. It really caught my attention. In the background, I hear my wife call my name. I turn and look at her and the Dr as they are watching me. The Dr proceeded to explain how he believes I am ADHD. Darn puzzles were bait.😂
I REALLY wish I knew I had ADHD in school🤦♂️ Just hearing the words "gym shorts" made me SO ANXIOUS!!!😱😭🤣 I can smell the cleaner they used, hear that horrible screaching in the basketball court, and over a decade later I'm still nauseous thinking about what they're going to make us do and what's in next period 🤣😭🤣😭
As a permanent resident of "the desk next to the teacher", I feel seen.
permanent resident I'm dying 💀
I loved what you said about universal classroom design! It would be great to have a video about that topic, both as a resource for teachers and also for those of us with ADHD so we can better advocate for ourselves.
Oh my gosh yes - Jessica's comments about 'fiddling' or 'fidgeting'. This followed me through into my professional life. I got told off so many times for doodling or fidgeting during meetings - it was bad 'optics' . But I was one of the most active meeting participants, and took great notes. As soon as I was told I had to stop doodling, I no longer was able track in meetings and got nothing out of them. This was years ago, I've sorted things out with the upper management now (getting an official diagnosis helped) but it was horrid that it continued even after I'd grown up and was technically allowed to 'adult'!
Reading anything except what I was supposed to be reading is big. Cleaning anything except for the thing I'm supposed to be cleaning. Cleaning my room and making a bigger mess, because I took everything out of my dresser or off of my bookshelf and now how to figure out the proper way to reorganize it so that it makes more sense, but then get half way through it and end up cramming half of the stuff back even sloppier than before. High grades on tests and in-school work, almost never turned in a scrap of homework. I'm pretty sure the only reason I got through college was because I had a kid and 2 - 3 jobs, so everything was last minute or a cram session. It's been 17 years and I'm almost recovered from it. *Oh, I created my own alphabet for taking notes, because my teachers were boring and so is taking notes. At least writing in a made up alphabet worked my brain out and was way more entertaining and also kind of counted as doodling.
You'll get that on those big jobs. Especially the OCD... CDO? heavy days.
I did this, "High grades on tests and in-school work, almost never turned in a scrap of homework!"
Also, in college, to make myself write papers about stuff I found boring, I'd find a cool, completely unrelated quote and then tie the assignment topic to the quote throughout the paper. I guess I was gamifying it, but my profs thought I was brilliant, so yay? And yes that was the night before it was due or, sometimes, the morning before. And yes, feel free to use however. ;-)
The putting-your-shoes-on-time is so real and is STILL something I struggle with! Forever grateful to my bus drivers through the years who would wait an extra minute so I could catch up at a dead sprint (we were the last stop on the route, so it didn't make anyone else late)
I was late to my physical therapist this morning because... I forgot to take into account the time needed for getting ready to leave 👀
Crochet and knitting helped me focus during high school, college and languages lessons. I can crochet almost blindly under the table even in the gaps between taking notes. Luckily by then I had my ADHD diagnose and I could explain a bit when asked. Teachers were not always happy and sometimes I got in trouble, but I managed to get my degree so…
Once a professor found me knitting during class and asked if it was a specific pattern. I was amazed he recognized it. It was very wholesome.
I wish ADHD students were not forced to hide their yarn (or whatever). Doing extra activities does no harm to the rest of the group and it helps us focus. Even nowadays I bring my yarn on rides, to the bank and to the dentist.
I'm 45. I've spent most of my life studying and never at any point have I had a teacher do *anything* to support my ADHD. I had a clinical educator who used to stare at me like I was an idiot when I couldn't follow her long, rambling lectures in the middle of a busy ICU in hospital. Ironically, she had a son with ADHD, but because I (a woman) didn't present the same as a 13 year old boy, my struggles didn't count and it was just me not trying hard enough or disrespecting her by not listening. Looking back at the way I was treated by teacher after teacher makes me so mad today.
I heard this excellent quote somewhere relating to school assigments: "there's nothing worse than having enough time". Fits for many other situations as well
😂
The other relevant phrase on this topic is that work expands to fill the time it's given.
those times in class where we'd go around a circle and each person would read a paragraph were THE WORST - so painful and the quickest way for me to have zero empathy for struggling readers. i was three pages ahead when it got to my turn and then i'd have no idea where we were. this is also why I can't watch tv with subtitles on - it just ruins the timing of everything.
high school English classes were quite bad for me even though I love reading and love books. i failed so many reading quizzes because I couldn't make myself get through wuthering heights or the hobbit.
I was diagnosed with ADHD 2 years ago at age 43, though I’ve shown symptoms since I was 4. I tend to think of it as a challenge, but also as my super power. My hallmark is hyper focus. That makes me an incredibly fast learner, as long as I’m interested in or motivated by what I’m learning. But if I’m not interested… “squirrel!”. I also drive fast, and get impatient with other drivers. But I’ve never had an accident. Because I’m hyper focused. I don’t speak while I drive because I need to concentrate. Using the GPS on an unfamiliar highway is a HIGH PRESSURE situation for me 😂 (no speeding in those cases). But the thing I hate is that I need to be in my head while working, so I’m terrible in groups, unless I can be the silent participant who only chimes in once I’ve completed my mental brainstorm. I think we have a gift for seeing the big picture and working things out too. But I’m also an introvert, so I’m not sure if certain things are due to that combination. Bottom line is, DSM aside, I don’t see it as a disability. It’s more like an alternative brain functioning. I think neurotypical brains have as many challenges as we do, but in different ways.
I have one of these!
When asked why I hadn't done my maths homework, my honest answer was i thought it was for tomorrow.
My teacher then reminded me we didn't have maths tomorrow.
There was no explaining i could do to fix that one.
Reading ahead during class is my number one! Unfortunately ADHD was not "invented" jet when I was at school
What's funny is that I do this in church, too. Literally will read what the preacher read, then will read an extra two chapters for some reason. Didn't think about that until this video 😂
@@angemarie12 I was forgotten about it til Jessica said it in the video. But hey, my school days were 50 years ago 😂
This video is making it so clear for me that ive been dealing with adhd for a long time
I always need to re-read exams after completion because there's always questions i forgot to answer or read.
I rarely handed in math homework, and whenever i did it was completed in the minutes before the teacher came to class.
In both literature and English literature id never know where we were because I'd read ahead.
I had an assignment meant to be done over 3 months and i completed it in 2 days. Stayed up until 5am. Felt awful. Cried a lot. Got 98%. Happened to me with several classes with vague homework deadlines as well, because i waited until the very last minute.
TO THIS DAY WITH MY JOB TOO, I'm always very close to being late because i never take into account how much time it takes to brush my teeth.
Throughout highschool i developed origami as my focusing strategy and now in uni i try not to do it bc of the mess, but it's way harder for me to focus if im not folding too.
In one class we needed to draw a scene we learned about. Of course, i drew a comic on a huge panel. In highschool we needed to present a known conflict in class. I turned it into a play.
I know no one is gonna read this, but it's fun realizing in hindsight how obvious it was that i needed to get diagnosed.
Hearing the buzz from the lights& everyone else not noticing it,or taking the wrong textbook home for homework.
When I was doing my A levels (British qualifications you usually do aged 17-18) I got a D in my first year English, mainly because I couldn't make myself read the book my coursework was based upon. I wouldn't get into Uni with a D.
In my final exam, I crammed and crammed and came out with an A, which brought my total up to the C I needed. That turned out to be the highest grade I got in any of my A levels exams over 2 years.
I never understood why I could only achieve grades like this when the pressure was on.
I'm 13 and I struggle to do homework so much because its so boring. I can't stay focused on it, it takes so long to do and I would rather do anything else but having support in the classroom and accommodations helps so much yet its very embarrassing
I did my homework but would forget to turn it in, or it would magically not be in my backpack. That, and reading an entire book at 2:00am because the book report was do the next day.
OMG I resonate so deeply with all of these, especially the reading ahead because I was BORED and avoiding actual reading assignments because I was reading something else! 💀
I was so 2e that teachers would ask me to help other kids with their homework but then I would constantly forget to do/turn in my own homework.
I would also constantly fall asleep at my desk because I couldn't get my brain to shut up so I could sleep the night before.
At grade seven I simply resolved to stop doing my homework and just hazardetrough them at school. Idk how I managed to be an average student.
I did not know that was a thing. I got diagnosed with adhd at 26yrs old. I stopped doing homework and fell alseep at class from grade 8. Ive got dyslexia as well as a child. And scoliosis found out last yeat and apparently chronic migrene which i found out just last week!
im turning 31 in 2 months. So even tho I wish i had this chaked decades ago its good to get help even as an adult.
Get cheked even if its late in life is what im preaching to my family and friends. My life is getting healthier and better each second because i know more about myself, and how i can manage my life and parenthood and overcoming my struggles through therapy and getting to understand myself. Ive still got a long way to go, but my life is much better now than what it has been the last 15 years of my life❤
Having your planner, and writing in the test dates, etc... because that's what you're supposed to do. But then when home forget to look in your planner. When the test comes around the teacher asks you "didn't you write it in your planner?" Well yes, but that doesn't mean I remember to look in it
The number of times in high school that someone handed me my distinctly flamboyant lanyard with my locker key on it and said, "You left this in the bathroom again."
I loved this! Here's a couple more if you do another: When I was in 5th grade I made little creatures out of erasers and thumb tacks that I kept in my pencil box in my desk and I'd secretly play with them during class.
Also, every notebook I've ever had from grade school through grad school has been COVERED in doodles, mostly in the margins but sometimes full pages. It's the only thing that kept me focused most of the time.
My turn ! I’ve gone to the doctor about my adhd but when she asks me why I feel like I have adhd I can’t really remember why and what causes it, so she says how do u know u have adhd if u don’t know and I say its the that I don’t know I just don’t remember and the fact that I don’t really remember and my mind just goes all over the place should be a sign of adhd, right?
omg calling a new semester ADHD new years is so accurate haha😆
Also the classic "There's a BACK SIDE OF THE WORKSHEET?!"
I remember one time where a teacher actually took the time to talk with me 1 on 1, and I thought she was scary (this teacher was from a foreign country), and then there were times that my voice was often not heard, but she knew I was a very smart kid because she saw my effort, and literally everyone was Jealous because she liked me quite a bit, and she came down to my level, that was prob the only time in my elementry through High School life that I was looked at normally while I was with everyone else. if I ever find that teacher again, I will definitely say thank you. I also went from a normal class to an honor's class in that same subject, it made me work so much harder because I had 3 out of 4 honor's classes that year.
So there's a Positive moment with a teacher while having undiagnosed ADHD.
When reading in turns: Finding the paragraph that I will end up on, remembering the sentence before mine. Daydreaming until I hear the sentence
1:36 it's not just me! Love reading, most reliable hyperfocus. Get told to read something, nope. I will read anything except what I'm told to
love your content! It makes me feel less alone :,)
This actually made me cry for a moment because I never understood why school was such a challenge and why I struggled yet I could still get good grades. I would literally forget I had homework until I was in the Quad before school and everyone would mention it then I would be desperately trying to get it done before classes. The organized color coded planner was what made me cry. The true attempt and optimism I would stay organized this year to completely fall off in the first month. I still struggle with this.
I think my contribution to this would be even getting to graduate with a diploma. I was in the "no child left behind" era. Now truly I did not understand math. I also had teachers that didn't care to help to help. I failed the proficiency exams every year. Your senior year you had multiple chances at the exam. Every exam I failed by just a few points. I think passing was 240 and I was always in the 230 range. I struggled. I stressed. Finally we had ONE last chance about a month before graduation. My school put together an after school program to help us 3 days a week to study. The teacher, who I wish I always had, understood how to help teach me and taught me more in the month of after school classes then I had my whole hs career. The one on one really helped focus where i struggled. On the last attempt I passed with an above average score only a few points off of the 300 max score.
Talk about that last minute adhd cram. Whe it's urgent and when you're in crunch with your back against the wall. I've never been so proud or cried so much. I thought I was going to graduate a B student with a "certificate of completion". But i actually got my diploma.
But then there is memory loss immediately. I did actually understand the questions on the test. But then I needed to test into college math and did not so great again because I didn't retain all that information. 🙃
Moral of the story. I hate math and adhd probably didn't help. But my math profiency exam story is the extreme example of how I always have run and still had no idea i probably has ADHD. I didn't even put two and two together until recently in my 30s.
Also this is probably so incoherent I almost don't want to push send so hopefully I made any sense.
Don't worry, this made perfect sense. You're not alone. I have ADHD too, and ironically, I work as a tutor at a technical college...but I don't do math. That's the one subject I cannot tutor beyond basic stuff like fractions and decimals. Anything having to do with algebra or above? Forget it! Thankfully, I have coworkers who are gifted in math, so I can focus on helping with other subjects. But I completely understand and feel your pain. Math sucks!
I would constantly forget my jacket in school the moment I took it out. I learned to put it below my chair so I see it at the end of the day... After 5 years of the same problem happening
Oh, this might explain why I always take notes when listening to lectures or talks and stuff. Even if there are handouts detailing everything. I always felt it helps keeping my focus tremendously. And why I then never look at those notes later...
I can relate to the majority of these things. Especially the locker code, working on projects at the very last minute, the gym shorts was a nightmare. The planner thing, I still do this TODAY. This video makes me feel seen.
5:47 that happened to me in sixth grade for one class but I was put off to the side with two cabinets on wheels that blocking me from seeing the other students and me only being able to see the teacher and chalkboard. None of this really helped, because I wasn't told why she did this and not until recently that I probably have ADHD . This was over 36 years ago.
First grade... I was the chatty kid... got in trouble for talking, teacher put my desk right next to hers and if I looked up i got whacked on the top of the head with a ruler.... this made me become withdrawn and the quiet shy kid after... still have issues speaking up to this day and I am 45. Trauma is real.
@@shannonmorrison8055 thankfully I was never hit by teacher , I'm sorry you were
The reading ahead is so relatable. I had horrible reading comprehension (i failed the placement test at my community college in reading and had to take remedial reading) but at the same time, I would get so bored when we would read-aloud in class that I'd start reading ahead. In college especially, I would find myself so bored because usually my lectures were powerpoints and not very interactive. I also relate to having heard what the teacher said but not understanding the directions.
1. Books I couldn’t get through as assignments were fascinating when read for pleasure.
2. Forbidden from knitting during boring lectures, meetings and workshops even though I could concentrate better when I did
Lots more! Didn’t have a clue that I might have ADHD until age 64, still can’t get a diagnosis.
ADD diagnosis. I was a huge underachiever. The rare times I was inspired to do my best, I got accused of cheating.
So signs from the school years - You were accused of cheating when you didn't.
Report cards filled with "shows potential but lacks effort" in every class.
I got diagnosed with ADHD when i was 15 and no matter what I did i was late to school. My pediatrician put me on a low dose of ritilin because he 'had a hunch'. After that first dose even though it was small, it felt like i had my mind back and I could control it! Fast foward a few years and now im in university studying to be a teacher.
Wild Stories! misreading questions also happens to us folks with Autism when we're in hurry.
The first video like this was one of the reasons I looked into getting an ADHD a few years ago. More this please!
As someone who was first moved away from my friend, then put behind a partition to block me from whomever I was next to, and eventually moved out into the hallway for talking in 4th grade I can fully attest to it not only being hurtful but it also laid the groundwork for feeling like I was fundamentally not wanted around by anyone.
This is my life all over again
Come to school wearing two different shoes! Only noticed bc I was trying to play with a piece of fabric at the back end and realized that one of my shoes didn't have that fabric 😅
I haven’t been diagnosed yet because finding someone who diagnoses adults is hard.
But for me it’s that I love starting projects but I hate finishing them or don’t finish them at all (smaller projects are usually fine). Puzzles, sewing, crocheting, drawing or work for school or university. No matter how early I start I won’t finish it until the very last moment. I have multiple projects lying around that I need to finish, but the initial excitement is gone
I once circled the right letter on a multiple-choice question, but then wrote the wrong letter in the slot for your answers
I can relate so much to 4:36 and 5:24! I'm not sure if it's C-PTSD or if it's masking undiagnosed ADHD, but memory is something I've always struggled with.
Yes, please do more videos like this! 🙏🏻🙏🏻 I really relate to this one a lot! 💜💜 Ooh the desk being turned around took me right back to 3rd grade! I had only focused on how I played with paper clips, pennies or rocks in my hoodies pocket in class being a fidget thing. As soon as the desks being turned around was mentioned, however, I remembered putting little pebbles and large paper clips etc in my desk and trying to be discreet when I played with them during really boring or the more complicated classes so I wouldn’t get in trouble. I also balanced on three legs of my chair in a class where the teacher let us do that when we were under stimulated, but I had to stop for more challenging math classes as it was a hindrance rather than a help for hearse subjects. I also remember weaning myself off of it during the last semester except for tests or when I absolutely could not focus any other way as I knew next year I wouldn’t have a teacher that let us balance on three chair legs. So, I knew the longer I used that to focus the harder it would be to get through class without it the next year. I was frustrated with myself every time I couldn’t get through a day without using the chair thing as I knew I had to learn to cope without having that as my back up focus plan as all too soon it wouldn’t be there. I was 9, in 4th grade and about 2 months away from the end of the year and already anticipating how difficult class was going to be the next year without the chair thing and a really understanding teacher. I also got told I could have straight A’s if I “just tried harder.” Then they wondered why “I put so much pressure on myself” at school? Really? So frustrating! 🙄🙄
Doing the exercise part of a textbook instead of listening to the teacher because you already figured it out from the initial explanation and wanted to test it out immediately, and you didn't want to wait for the rest of the class to catch up.
Another video, thank you
AuDHDer here - from 4th grade to high school, my teachers figured out that I couldn't disrupt the class if they made me their class secretary. So for like five years in every class I was in, I had a desk next to the teacher's. If you wanted to talk to the teacher before the end of class (like go up to her desk, not raise your hand to ask questions) you had to ask me first.
The way my teachers did it - by giving me a special job - actually made me proud of my problem and contributed to me figuring out how to properly engage with my peers.
4:56 I think the part about doing something repeatedly during a day and then forgetting it on the 5th try is because you were either doing something out of muscle memory (opening a lock) and started to pay attention on the 5th term which could cause you to have to consciously think about what you’re doing and overthink the steps so you forget how to do it / become anxious about the thing… or you were only remembering how to do it with your working memory and you’ve forgotten now
I definitely read ahead a ton because it was just too slow.
Hello, Brains! 🧠
A really big one for me was the constant need to be moving. I was either shaking my leg or wriggling in my seat or drawing or whatever other thing got my motor skills used. I needed my the input of my body moving to help center my focus.
0:25 one time I walked out of my house wearing two different pairs of shoes so I’m with you on that
Once, I looked down at my feet while waiting at the bus stop, only to discover that I was wearing my fluffy, pink bunny slippers. To university. 😊
Parent edition: I have a smartwatch with an alarm on it specifically for making sure I don't forget to be outside and get my preschooler off the bus.
I actually forgot to pick up my daughter from daycare once. So embarrassing!
Getting a D for reading in year 5. While simultaneously being tested as having a reading comprehension level of a year 12 (college)student.😑.
Wants much more, because these experiences describe our situations similar to the ones that make us weird to ourselves and ask why did I have to do or feel compelled to do that. It's a normalizing effect to not feel alone. Thanks for the q & a.
Looking at the title, I can do one better: I'll just show you a picture of my two cupboards full of hobby stuff. You'll find anything in there, from resin to electronics, photography equipment, sewing machine, polymer clay, wire, pearls... (so glad I can just close the doors of these monsters lol)
Also, a sidenote, your channel kickstarted everything for me. Your video about Bullet Journals to be specific; I got my official diagnosis in a long and painful process (getting diagnosed at 30+ is ... interesting here). I quit my job, got my meds and I am self employed now and don't dread getting up every morning any more.
You started this. Thank you. So much.
Trying to get myself to do stuff by giving myself immediate rewards (and...sometimes skipping to the rewards), or telling myself "future me will thank past me".
Tell me you have ADHD without telling me you have ADHD: Loving the taste of bananas but not being able to eat them because of the texture. Hating the way sunscreen feels and makeup too. Being acutely aware of my feet and how socks sit on them + also hating shoes. Loving my own loud music but hating other’s loud music. Loving small spoons and hating big ones.