Hi I have severe case of adhd a combination fo both innatintive and hyperactive subtype as well as a wide aray of learnign disablities (dislexia is one fo them so the spellign in this message will be bad) My name is Nick and I am just about to sit my major high school exams and I am doing ok I have a good social life a good home life and I am trying my best and I want to know what i should do and if anyone feels like i do.
I feel like I am a loser a fialure an idiot and as if my trying for the my major exams is a waste of time and that by tkaing the risk of actaully tryign for these exams i will just prove that i am an idiot. I have hated school for that reason not any other. I have always failed accidmenically at school and it has led me in the past into depression because i dont know why i cant do well and yet everyday i see poeple do better than me at school. I have been all the way through high school had comments on my rpeort card along the line of is "highly intllegent but yet is is failing and must try harder/be more organised/work on hand writting ectra?" and after a little while i stopped beleiving the first bit cause honestly who is goign to say on a report card that your son is and idiot? isnt it much easier to say that he just has to try harder be more organised ectra?. I have almost statered to belive the way I think is wrong that because i cant slow donw my trian of thought to write I am a retard. what shoudl i do? What should i think? What web page or book can explian this feeling of being a failure to me? Is there anyone who has goen throguh the same thing and can help me? I have gotten alot of information about myslef through reading what other poeple have written about me to other poeple, books written for parents coping with children with adhd and web sites that make me feel like i am sick. I havent ever seen a web site dedicated to the poeple who are tryign to deal with adhd that talks about the the stuff that I am going through.
Any comments, thoguths please post them
oh nickNick, I haven't gone thru what you go through but I have an 11 year old daughter with inattentive type ADD & I've seen similar comments on her report card. Your post made me think.....made me realize how she must be feeling. I can tell you that I try to see things objectively & even though she all but fails math classes (math LD) and has barely legible handwriting, people can see the smart side of her as well. In her case its reading & creating stories. As her parent I try to encourage her in those areas so she can see her self-worth. Think about yourself; I'm sure you have some things that you excel in......your teachers must see your acedemic strengths or, as you say, why would they not leave that bit out altogether "highly intelligent". Heres A quote from one website:
"If you have ADHD, it's natural to feel misunderstood and frustrated at times. It might seem like you're always losing your homework or having trouble following teachers' instructions, or you may have trouble making friends or getting along with your family members. It helps to learn as much as you can about yourself."
Heres one ADHD site geared towards teens:
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/
I tried to find others, but you are right that they are few & far between. I think you should take the exams & sure, you won't excel at every part of them, but no-one does. Your strengths will shine through. I'm sorry if I wasn't much help. I'm sure you'll get many more responses. You have given me much to think about though.
Nik,
Pete Wright is a brilliant special ed attorney. He argued the Shannon case in Supreme Court and WON! The Shannon case was against a school system which continually failed a girl and whose parents had to spend a ton of money to get her an education. It is extremely hard to win a case in the supreme court.
Pete Write is dyslexic and had to have copius notes read to him and put on tape. He had to memorize pages of stuff as he wasn't allowed to have his tapes in court. You can read his story at www.wrightslaw.com
Charles Schwab is a millionaire entreupeneur businessman who is self made. He is ADHD.
The founder of Jet Blue is ADHD and attributes it to his ability to conceive the idea of an airline anyone can afford to fly on.
? Hallowell, the man who wrote "Driven From Distraction" is a Harvard psychiatrist and has ADHD.
You are intelligent and want to succeed. We believe in you and want to see you succeed. What are your strengths? What do you enjoy doing? Find what you like to do best and apply yourself to doing that.
If you need further education to realize your dreams, go for it! Talk to your dr and find out what meds you can take to help you focus.
You can learn to type and use spell check. You can have someone take notes, read to you, help you study.
There are ways you can use your strengths to work around your weaknesses.
I'll tell you what I tell my son. You have the intelligence to do and be whatever you want. You have to work harder and look for ways around your weaknesses, but you can do it!