I didn’t know that I had ADHD while growing up and it was a challenge to do some of the things that others could do with ease. I don’t think that there was a diagnosis for it yet either, so many kids got labeled slow learners and that was that! My brother & sister could read a 200 page novel for school and do the book report with no problem. I, on the other hand, couldn’t get past the first 10 pages without totally being frustrated & unable to continue. I remember feeling as though I wasn’t as good as they were at times, because that was what the example of a good kid was…good grades, and I didn’t always get good grades.
I had the aptitude, but it was very difficult to focus when it came to reading, and some other very common tasks. Even now, when I’m reading or studying, I have to seclude myself from everything because I am distracted so easily. I was put in remedial reading in junior high school but I was taking algebra, and algebra was a breeze. I took Russian in the 11th grade and German & Algebra II Trigonometry in the 12th grade, but my English class was a slower paced English class with minimal expectations from the students, go figure that.
When it was something that I was interested in, I could focus like nothing else mattered. Does anybody reading this have the similar challenges, or do you know someone with the similar challenges? Well, don’t cast judgment too soon, because you or they could have any kind of Focus/Concentration challenges that need to be accommodated differently than the rest of the majority of people out there. I know that I learn differently than some others, example: sometimes I study/read at home for an hour or so, then study at the park for another hour or so, then I may go to a library- but what I am aware of is that I can’t always be in the same environment or location when studying/reading for extended lengths of time and have to get up and move around & come back to it or it is just not happening!
Don’t get me wrong, it may seem, from this post, that having something like ADHD is a difficult thing, because I mentioned how much of a struggle it was at times, but there are a lot of positives with it too. I’ll get to the good stuff about it on the next blog post.
Thanks for listening.
Steve
Thanks for sharing, Steve! I also think that kids and people develop diferently and in different ways throughout their lives. Some children just gravitate to book learning, while others just aren’t interested. A lot of this has to do with what else is going on in their lives that compels them to focus on school or distract them from school. For me, I was an average student all the way through college. I was interested in certain subjects here and there and excelled where I was interested and passionate, but I generally just got by. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I realy “matured intellectually” and really become passionate about learning and intellectual activities. I think there were 3 reasons for this 1) my mind was ready to focus on new and interesting things 2) I became confident in my own abilities and brain power and 3) I became a passionate learner. Like Steve said, it’s key tpo believe in yourself. If you don’t how can anyone else! The other key is passion. If you believe in yourself and you’re passionate about what you’re doing, it’s impossible to fail! Because even if you don’t end up with riches, you’re still loving life and enriching yourself!
This is a very thoughtful and introspective column. Thanks for sharing it!