As I am writing this, my leg is shaking and my mind is already thinking about what I am going to do after I write this article. I had to turn off my music before starting this or I would be up dancing around the room and that would've been another 2 hour delay. For some of you this sounds obnoxious or might even give you anxiety thinking about someone like me. Then there are others who can relate on a serious level.
Let me clear this up by saying this, I have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). Some people like to think of this as the "Ohh squirrel" syndrome. Yeah, I think I can speak for the rest of the ADHD squad when saying that joke is not funny. Squirrels as well as many other moving objects are a real issue for us. People with this disorder have many challenges on the daily. I have a little helper called Ritalin (my medication), but still, God made me very observant as well as hyper and very outgoing. When I say very outgoing, I mostly mean running my mouth constantly.
Everyone who has been diagnosed find out in many different ways and at many different times in their life. I myself learned I had this when I was in the fourth grade. My teacher told my mother that my eyes were always looking out of the window instead of on the board. I remember that I could never keep up with others in out-loud reading story time. The rest of the class would be on page 43 and I am still on 32. The problem with this disorder is there is no cure, just acceptance and a lot of learning.
It is very hard to read a book, or anything that is longer than four words. Not because we cant read, we are not dumb. It is only because while our eyes are 'reading' the sentence, we are also thinking about what we want for dinner or what episode we last watched on Netflix. We might even be thinking about how stupid this book actually is and cannot remember why we sat down to read it in the first place. By the time we realize we are reading words, we forget what the heck we just read.
People with ADHD cannot be trusted with directions. If we are the driver in the car, others around them need to be quiet and the radio needs to be turned off. I myself am very prone to miss road signs or exits. Hey, at least I don't forgot the stops signs. What I think is quite a talent is that I am able to get from point A to point B without remembering how I got there. Now more simple destinations such as going to the fridge can be quite irritating. This happens all the time, I walk to the kitchen forgetting why I was even going in there. So then I just have to start looking around in cabinets and in the fridge until I realize I was actually thirsty. Who forgets they are thirsty? People who have an attention deficit disorder.
It is so hard to sit in church. I can proudly say I love the Lord, but I do not like sitting in one spot for more than ten minutes unless I have something active to do. My legs shake and I twiddle my thumbs. A lot of times I feel a little bop on the head because apparently I am making too much movement and that is a distraction to my mother (who is also ADHD).
If you are talking to me I am sorry if I ignore you, I was thinking about a million other things or actually looking at a squirrel. They are so cute. Sorry, getting back on track. Anyways, we do not mean to ignore or forget. A lot. We do not mean to be annoying. We for sure do not mean to change the subject every 10 seconds. I am sorry that we have to be asked to do something twelve times as well as continuously being told to sit still. It is who we are.
The good thing about us is we can be fun. If you do something not so cool to us, chances are we honestly forget about it. We are very outgoing and can be pretty positive for the most part. A Lot of us have a quality of not being so shy, mostly because we are in your face. I realize I have said sorry a few times while writing this. In all honesty, though, I am not sorry for being ADHD. It makes me who I am and I love myself, even when I get so side tracked that I burn all of the food in my kitchen and always forget a step while cooking. Being ADHD isnt a disorder in my eyes, it is a quality. So to all of my fellow ADHD friends, you rock! Also don't forget to write a note to remind yourself to take your medication.
Who am I kidding, you're going to forget anyway.
