not following directions | ADHD Information
This problem has plagued me my whole life. I'm now up to 20 mgs of strattera and I still can't follow directions. It's causing problems in my internship and causing me to beat myself up for it.
Help!!!!!
Hi cheekydeeky!
well I am up to 30mg of dexedrine, and I had appointment to see dr (not related to add) well I went on to mapquest to get the details, printed it off, and set on my way, the instructions said "will take 20mins" I read the insturctions over and over and thought to myself "yes...got it".
Oh boy, i ended up the other end of town, and it took me 1.5 hrs to finally get to my destination
Mybe will need one of those GPRS systems that tell us where to go and repeats itself each time we turn the worng way, can we get one of those things in a palm pilot or something
That would certainley help us!! hee hee
Direction our son has trouble with both.Check auditory processing and visual processing disorders our son believe has both. [QUOTE=ZORG] Following written directions has never really been a problem for me.
But trying to follow verbal instructions has always been hard,
ecpecially when someone tries to expect me to remember a set of verbal
steps several steps long.
[/QUOTE]
It's just the opposite for me. I do better with verbal, than with written. Actually, neither do as well as showing me. If I watch someone do something I can pick it up faster.
Now, will someone please show me how to keep my keyboard keys from sticking?!
Assorted comments on directions:
My sons & I agree:if all else fails, read the instructions. I am talking about new things that come with instruction booklets. I think we avoid them because they are boring & we only want to know the answer to one question, not all that other stuff.
Also, I don't follow recipes nor measure stuff when I cook.(It's edible)
If I have to go somewhere in town (not a new place)I'll picture the route in my head. Once I am actually on it I realize there are many things I totally forgot about. (I've lived here 40 years.)
When someone comes up to me & asks for directions to a certain place, trying to explain to them how to get there is really difficult, if not impossible. [QUOTE=Andorra] I think we avoid them because they are boring & we only want to know the answer to one question, not all that other stuff.
...If I have to go somewhere in town (not a new place)I'll picture the route in my head.[/QUOTE]
About wanting to know the answer to only one question is what gets me in trouble, especially when being trained verbally for a new job (many of which I've had!) If I understand what they want from me, but only have a specific question about what they're trying to tell me, I get irritated
if even after I say "Yes, I've got it" and they still go on and on or repeating stuff...meanwhile I'm getting more irritated because I just need to clarify one specific thing!
I'm also very visual, a very ADHDer thing, so I also need to visual directions before I go anywhere. Also I visual words when being spoken to. I always thought everyone (normal people) did that, but they don't. I was surprised when a counselor told me that.
When someone mentions a State, I'll immediately picture the shape of it, where it is in the placement of the entire US, etc.
I had an internship in DC last year and had the same problem with directions. At one point I f**ked up so bad I bought two airplane tickets to Mexico City for only one person.
I learned that I have to write everything people say to me, and I stop them if I don't understand them. You can't just nod your head when you haven't clue what they told you.
Try to find someone you feel comfortable with, maybe another intern, that you can consult with discreetly when you don't understand directions.
If you mess up, be cool about it - don't become defensive, and try to figure out how you can avoid the mistake. A positive attitude is essential. If people sense that you are not only spacey, but resigned to being innefectual they will write you off.
Hope this helps