I’ve seen so many people who get diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood state that they wish they were diagnosed with ADHD earlier, possibly when they were a child because it would change how they felt about themselves at the time. While I can sympathise with that and do think ADHD should be diagnosed as early as possible I personally don’t think it changed the way I felt about myself.
I was diagnosed at the age of 10, but the words ADHD meant nothing to me because well it wasn’t that common back in 1998 and also science wasn’t my best subject. From a young age I knew I was different to other children, I couldn’t conform, and I had no desire to, it didn’t stop me feeling bad about being different though…being the odd one out that everyone always made fun of.
All I knew back then is ADHD meant there was something missing from my brain which caused me to behave differently to others. Of course, I made the huge mistakes of sharing that with people when I went to high school, who then decided that this made me a psychopath.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, getting diagnosed with ADHD is the beginning of a journey, not the final destination.”
ADHD gIRL
Still, I’m glad I got diagnosed when I was younger, not because it changed the way I felt about myself because that’s been an incredibly long journey that one label can’t really bring into perspective at ten years old. No, I’m glad I got diagnosed at ten because it was the start of getting to know who I was within the ADHD narrative, of finding out that it was ok if I learnt things differently as long as I learnt them, and that it was ok that I wasn’t good at certain things, because I had talent in other areas.
I’m not sad that I couldn’t understand my ADHD at the age of ten, but I am sad that I didn’t know why I was different for so long and that other people thought it was a bad thing. That’s why later this year I’m releasing a picture book for children about what ADHD is and how it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Every child deserves to know that are loved and valued, even if they are different from the norm, that statement right there defines my whole life and various careers as a teacher, a nursery nurse and a foster carer. No child deserves rejection for being who they were born to be, ADHD or not!
Have a good week ADHD! There are brighter months ahead!
