What is ADHD?

"I took medication when I was a kid. Everyone said I would outgrow it, so I stopped taking the medication in college. Everything is so hard now. I hate math. It's so boring. I know I'm bad at it, even though my teacher says I'm not. I'm a failure. I can't remember to do homework. I lose things. I can't get anything right. I hate feeling like I'm different, but I really am. Work seems like it's easy for everyone else." These are the voices of people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. Millions of American children, teenagers, and adults experience this disorder, which makes it hard to concentrate, pay attention, organize, and focus. Their lives are complicated because of it. I know. One of these voices is mine. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was nine. Most kids with ADHD start to struggle with symptoms even earlier than that. I first noticed my symptoms in school, when we began doing projects that took planning, and I got frustrated a lot. Later, in middle school, I was on the basketball team, but I was always late to practice. Eventually, my teacher called my parents to talk about my grades, since I understood the material, but didn't turn things in on time. At that point, my parents, my coach, and my teacher all compared how things were going, and that's when my parents took me to see my pediatrician. ADHD can show up in three different types: Inattentive, Hyperactive-Impulsive, and Combined. My symptoms were more of the inattentive type. I was having a lot of trouble losing things or forgetting things, not finishing homework, and organizing my work for projects and future assignments. My parents told me at first that they wondered if I had a hearing problem, because sometimes I would look like I didn't hear them when they talked to me. Other children also struggle to keep their attention in class, can look super distracted at home and school, and have trouble with details for things they're not interested in. Kids with more hyperactive or impulsive symptoms have trouble waiting for their turn. They might get up from their seats in class, run around when it's not a good time to do that, talk all the time, interrupt people, or blurt out answers. A lot of times, kids with ADHD can get into trouble, since the symptoms can look like they don't care or aren't respectful of others, but they do care. They just can't control it because of their problem with attention. While some people might have inattentive type and others have hyperactive-impulsive type ADHD, still others might have symptoms of both, which is called combined type. If people show six symptoms from either of the first two types, or a combination of them adding to six, they fit the diagnosis. While ADHD is most commonly diagnosed in kids, almost all of them continue to experience it as teenagers, and a majority still have symptoms as adults. Only some people grow out of it. The most important thing to know is that treatment for ADHD works. For little kids, this is behavior therapy that also includes their parents, so the whole family can be part of the solution. For school-aged kids and older, the best choice is medication or a combination of medication and therapy. I had behavior therapy where I learned some skills, like specific time management and organization techniques, that helped me in school and in my sport. I also took a stimulant medication that helped me focus my attention. Sometimes people find great help in non-stimulant medications, especially younger kids. For most people, ADHD medications really help focus and block out distractions. ADHD is a serious challenge for kids, teenagers, and adults who struggle to pay attention and focus in many parts of their lives. But there is hope. Treatment works. School wasn't easy for me, but with my therapy and medication, I learned what I needed to do to make it work. People go on to do well in school and succeed in their lives and careers, in spite of and because of their ADHD. I know. I did.