Experience Journal: Growing up with ADHD
Did you know 11 percent of school-aged children have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Left undiagnosed, ADHD can make it very difficult for kids to reach their full potential — in school and beyond. With the right diagnosis and treatment, kids with ADHD can overcome their challenges and be very successful.
The Experience Journal, a project of the Boston Children’s Hospital psychiatry program, interviewed numerous adolescents and parents about their experiences with ADHD. Here are their stories, in their own words.
ADHD: Noticing a problem
Will, 23
During sixth grade, I was getting in trouble in school all the time. I was talking out of turn and yelling and getting in-school suspension, plus my grades were getting bad. So then the principal had a meeting with my mom, and my mom took me to do testing. I had to fill out a big questionnaire … and then they diagnosed me with having ADHD. I kind of understood what it was, but basically I just knew that I had attention problems.
A Mother
She was disorganized with her belongings, moved quickly from thing to thing and wasn’t able to settle. I think it was when she started kindergarten, when she started to interface with the school and there were organized activities that we began to notice that she had a little trouble concentrating and staying on task.
A Mother
It really hit us by the time Megan got to high school; that’s when school becomes more complicated … She really started to slip in ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Erin Horan Tags: Experience Journal Our Patients’ Stories Parenting ADHD Source Type: news
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