Life with ADHD

Nick Bello

ADHD

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a psychological disorder primarily defined as a severe lack of attention

Symptoms

• Trouble paying attention• Not listening• Easily distracted • Forgetful• Inability to remain seated• Fidgeting• Constant talking or

interrupting others• Trouble taking turns

Types of ADHD

• Predominantly Inattentive Type – hard to finish tasks, pay attention to details, organize, or to follow instructions or conversations

• Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type – a lot of fidgeting. It is hard to sit still for extended periods of time. The person will have trouble with impulsivity, interrupt others and grab things

Treatment

• The most common treatment of ADHD is stimulant medication including Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvance, Strattera, and Concerta

• Behavioral therapy is another method used to treat ADHD. The aim of the treatment is to create routines and help organize the person with the disorder

• Medication has been found to be the most effective method in the treatment of ADHD

Possible Causes

• The primary cause of ADHD is genetics, although lead exposure, premature birth, and brain injury may also play a role

• IT IS NOT CAUSED BY A HIGH-SUGAR DIET OR WATCHING TOO MUCH TV!!!! Of course many things may make symptoms worse (a television program designed to grab attention will have sufferers glued to the screen), there is no strong evidence that too much sugar and TV cause ADHD

Soooo……..

• How do I cope?

• Living with ADHD can be difficult…

• I am late to 95% of things that require me to arrive at a specific time, 95% of the times they occur. To put it simply, I am late to 95% of things, 95% of the time. If you don’t believe me, ask my first period teacher.

• That constant tardiness has put serious strain on my relationships with my coaches, my parents, and my first period teachers. It isn’t an issue during the school day getting to other classes, partly because my Adderall has set in, and partly because I have a warning bell

• Everyday I hear people saying “oh I’m so ADD hahahah!!” I wish they had it, even worse than I do, because then they wouldn’t talk about it that way.

• There are also people that, for some reason, think ADHD is a made up, over diagnosed disorder. They say to get over ADHD, the answer is simple: pay attention

• Here, this metaphor should put the thought process of a sufferer of ADHD in perspective. Imagine standing three feet away from a freight train as it passes by your face. Because you are so close each car seems to go much faster past than it normally would. You try to keep track of each individual car as it goes by, but you can only keep track for so long before you loose it and have to start over with a new set of cars

• Each set of cars you try to keep track of is a different thought. You can hold on to it for a little bit, but just like that a very condensed bit of the thought races by and you loose what you were thinking about completely. And then you begin with another thought.

• Let me explain that this “Bullet Train Thought Process” is not a perpetual occurrence, but a common, repetitive one.

In Conclusion…..

• ADHD sucks. I’m late for everything. I forget things all the time. I can’t pay attention to most things for more than 20 seconds without thinking about something else.