Response to Tonya Week 4

Tonya,

To an extent, I know how you feel. I am 21 and was diagnosed with ADD when I was 19 years old, beginning my Soph. year in college. I remember realizing the difficulty I had to complete assignments or even tasks around the house, like clean my room or even just get up off my seat and go to my sports practices. I was hardly ever motivated and hardly could connect situations. For example, my mind would wander during the worst times: reading, I would have to re-read pages, books, chapters just because every time I would start to read, I would be thinking of other things. Then it started getting scary, and dangerous. I would drive home from school, an hour and a half, and hardly remember how I had gotten there, because I was just thinking about a million other things.

I had always done well in school, but I had to be VERY dedicated, and determined, which at times, it just called for too much from me. I explained my concern to my mom and right away she took me to a doctor.

On the way, she explained that she had actually tried to have me screened for ADD at a young age, but never believed in medicine fixing things about who we are, so when I said I wanted nothing to do with it, she let it go right away.

Once she had told me this, I remembered the time. I had to bring tests and questionnaires to my teachers etc. and the thought of me being on medicine? Well as a young child I viewed this as : if I go on medicine, that means there is something wrong with me. So i denied the idea and procedure to the fullest.

Now, I can see where your situation was far different, but I too know what its like to be an adult with the disorder. It really makes a world of difference with the help. What did and didn't happened to you as a young girl is unfortunate. Luckily things are set straight and we have people who are including girls in on their research ... You're right though, it's upsetting that men and boys are always the tested result and the measurement they tend to use overall.

-Taran
June 12, 2009 7:50 PM