What ADHD is Like?
It is 7 a.m. again. I know this because my alarm is going off and my mom just came in to my room to make sure I was awake. It’s Monday and the start of a new school week. I hate school so much. I can never seem to sit still and constantly am told to behave. I’m not even sure what behave is. I have acted and felt like this my whole life. It would seem completely strange to be calm and sit still. I’m not even sure that I would be able to.
I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) when I was 5 years old. I also was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) at the same time. Shortly thereafter I was placed on medication and have been on medication since then. The medication never works for longer than a few months and then it has to be changed again. Now I am 16, and I still take medication.
It’s now 7:30 a.m., and I’m still not dressed. It’s just so hard to find something to wear. I try not to get distracted by cleaning up my room, or by seeing nail polish and then starting to paint my nails. My mom is now yelling at me to make sure I’m dressed. I lie and tell her I’m about finished. I snap out of my daze and put on the first thing I see in my closet. As I start walking downstairs something in the bathroom strikes my interest. I stop. I’m not sure what happened, but my mom is now calling for me. She says its 7:50 and I’m going to be late to school. I finally get downstairs and I am handed my meds and some water.
The bus trip to school isn’t too bad this morning. Normally I get yelled at least once for getting out of my seat. I don’t get yelled at all this morning. As I’m walking to my first class I feel my meds kicking in. I don’t really like the feeling the medication gives me. But I know without it I would be sent out of every one of my classes, including physical education. It makes me feel like I am in a cloud and everything is kind of foggy....