When I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), it was a very significant time in my life as a student. Before I was diagnosed I struggled for many years academically. I could not understand why I was not succeeding as well as the other kids. The diagnosis gave me a clarification to why I was struggling. At this point, I was able to get help for what I needed and the tools to succeed as a student. Without this diagnosis, I would not be in college or have passed high school.

I had always struggled a little with school, however third grade was the year I realized I really had a problem. In first and second grade I had the same teacher who knew what I had issues in and how to help me understand. When I got to third grade, it was like I skipped two year of school and came straight from kindergarten. I would get C’s in almost every subject I had. I felt discouraged because I knew I learned it but I could not remember. When we were learning multiplication I struggled the hardest. Whenever I would fail a quiz my teacher would make me sit at a table in the back of the room during our free time and retake them until I got all the questions right. The table she would make me sit at was the table where everyone sat and talked very loudly about television or some gossip from another class. When I got my grade back, my quiz grade was even worse than when I took it with everyone else. That is when I realized I could not focus in a room full of noise. I ended up passing third grade with C’s and still not understanding multiplication.

In fourth grade I finally decided to try and figure out what was wrong with me. My twin brother was having the same academic problems as me, so my mother took him to a doctor who diagnosed him with ADD. When she found out I was having the same problems, she decided to have me tested as well. I went to the doctor and took the tests and hoped that there was a medical reason I could not pay attention in class or understand the topics being taught. After I finished the tests, the doctor told me that I did not have ADD but that I was lazy. I felt discouraged knowing that I was trying and not getting good results. I started to slack on my work because I thought that it did not matter how hard I tried, I would always struggle in school and there was no point. For two years I struggled with school and continued to not do well.

In sixth grade, I was doing very badly in school. My mom could see that I was trying but I was not getting the best results. She decided to take me back to the doctor and have me retested for any learning disability. I took the tests again and tried my best. This time, the doctor said I did have ADD and that was the reason I was having so many problems with school. I felt relieved that there was a reason I was not getting the grades I wanted besides me not trying hard enough. I started getting accommodations for separate testing locations and written out notes when I started middle school. My grades still were not the best but they were not as bad as the year before. I felt better knowing that it was not because I was lazy, but because of something I have no control over.

Without this diagnosis, I would not be in college. I do not even think I would have even finished high school because of how hard it would have been. But I did graduate high school, I was even on the honors list and got a few academic scholarships from colleges I applied to. Although having a learning disability is pretty hard and discouraging at times, I feel relieved that my hardest is enough and that I can achieve the grades I want.