Age 7 - how important | ADHD Information

I was a C average student all through school with a few B's and A's for subjects I liked and few F's and E's for the subjects I hated, french for one.

I new I would never get into uni because I was just too frazzled as a teen, and my 20's were a nightmare with getting married having kids, getting divorced, having a love child, meeting my current husband and rolling along on his roller coaster.  I have found though that I am slowly finding my own pace and becoming comfortable with that. 

I will do binge housework and stay in bed the whole next day.  But I know if i really force myself to do something and drag myself into the next project, I will feel an accomplishment, and the self esteem gained from that keeps me going over all.  I think if you dont look at other people and try to judge yourself by what they are achieving, but try to pat yourself on the back for the little achievements you make then you tend to survive a bit better.

And by a little achievement - this could even mean brushing your hair in the morning (yes even the back) and completing the day with brushing your teeth (yes all three surfaces).  If you can do even this much all day, you have done something right.  START SMALL AND WORK YOUR WAY BACK INTO LIFE WITH PLENTY OF SELF PRAISE ON THE WAY.

i told you..move to the usa..LOL just kidding..

when i was just a wee babe..i was a bit of a perfectionist, i did get in constant little ripples with my early elementary teachers for : talking WAY too much, not waiting my turn was my daily religion, answering before my teachers could finish a statement..i used to go skipping to the pencil sharpeners and dance and basically disrupt the class b/c of my charming display. LOL..i was bounced from remedial to normal math all the time. my verbal was off the charts. teachers constantly chided me for being under potential. i did cruise through school until college which i dropped out of after forgetting to drop my classes and getting a whole slate of 'F's b/c i didn't do the paperwork to drop ..so my gpa is tanked.

i think that i have plenty of memories in my mental pantry that bolster the evidence of my pre seven adhd quandries...

 

sumi

The more I read, the more I read about symptoms having to be present before age 7. My memory doesn't really go back that far. I know I was slow to learn to talk, but during primary school I won quite a lot of prizes, and was usually towards the top of the class. I remember being ticked off for being completely failing to pay attention in latin class when I was about 11, and failing miserably my first entrance scholarship exams, before really pulling through for the second school a few months later.

Once I got into secondary school, reports were regularly of the "could do better" type, and some mentioned immaturity and daydreaming, even though I still managed to get good grades.

So, did everyone on this list do badly in school, or did some do ok, but start to notice more serious problems later on, when the discipline was lifted?

I did badly as a youngster, very mediocre as a yound adult. Generally a B/C average. Discipline didn't seem to make any difference.

I also did bad, I remember I couldn't pay attention long enough in 3rd or 4th grade to learn how to use a calculator to take square roots.  The teacher gave us a quiz and we had to take a bunch of square roots using the calculator and I had no idea what I was doing and failed it I still call myself a dumbass for that one haha.  My parents tell me I was also a handful when I was younger.  I always had a problem concentrating for as long as I can remember.

I never really had any dicipline in my life, my parents were of the super lenient quality I remember when I was really young and my friend got grounded and I had to ask him what that meant . 

I think I did all right even with all of my symptoms I can't say I didn't struggle through school though.  I had to really push myself to get anything done and then when I finally got myself to do it, the constant battle of keeping at it used to start so all of my work was pretty much a half crack ass attempt.  Then when I got to college, the work started to pile on and I couldn't handle myself so I went and got diagnosed and I am 100% improved.  I think I work at my full potential now and my grades show it.

dieburnbot38204.1320833333

Some people get through school without any major problems. They are intelligent enough to get good grades and cruise at the same time. People with ADHD hit the wall at different times for different people, depending on many factors.

The symptoms are present during young childhood but not necessarily devastating until you hit your personal wall where all the things you leaned on in the past will no longer do the trick. Some people don't reach that point until they are in college or the work force when suddenly, things are much harder to deal with and more complex.

Girls often go through school undiagnosed, especially if they have the inattentive type. That is the one most often ignored or not recognized (in both boys and girls) by teachers and family members as there are no overt behavior problems. They are just assumed to be lazy or unmotivated.

I cruised through school and was called lazy and unmotivated and a few other things at times!  I knew I was smart but was convinced that I had poor study habits and no head for math. It wasn't until college when I really hit my wall. There are many of us here who went through the same thing. You definitely are not alone.

Barb,

Thanks for the advice. I did "hit the wall" in the last year of university, after going through a cycle each term of making a brilliant start to projects, but never being able to finish them off properly. Everyone else was presenting immaculately detailed buildings, but I was just producing sketches (my major was in Architecture).

On the first day of the last term, I just totally flipped, and was sent to hospital and diagnosed as having a bipolar / manic episode. When I went back to university to complete the course, the same cycle repeated itself again, but I did manage to scrape through with a degree.

I Have "got by" in the years since leaving uni, but never been able to do what I really want to. My symptoms have become much worse in the last 18 months, I think largely due to moving out from my parents' house and buying a house with my brother.

I appreciate what you say about the inattentive type, as this seems to be the profile I fit most closely. One side of me is starting to question if it worth the hassle trying to get a diagnosis (see other posts about how hard this is for adults in the UK), and almost thinking that this is a "mild" condition, as very few people would notice it as a problem.

Then the other side of me points out how little productive work I am doing at the moment, how I am effectively living off the fact that I have built up a certain amount of residual income, how I am really struggling with simple day to day tasks, and how I have no time or energy left over for a social life.

It is forums like this that give me hope that there are solutions out there, and as you say, I'm not alone.

Had a chat with my parents on Monday, and mum got out my old school reports. Plenty of evidence from about age 5 of lack of attention, "being in my own world", etc, so I don't think this is something I need to worry about.