Rough Draft

Angie Manning
Mrs. Armstrong
English 1010
11 October 2013
ADHD: Next To Normal ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is not something to laugh about. It is a serious problem that a lot of people now face. It is actually a really difficult thing to deal with. I personally have dealt with having ADHD since I was in the 3rd Grade. ADHD is as serious as any other disorder, such as Autism. Living with ADHD is being nowhere near normal. A lot of people don't understand how serious this condition really is. It is something that can't be seen. Symptoms of ADHD are usually inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. Some of the things that kids with ADHD must deal with on a daily basis are needing special accomodation in school, getting used to taking medication, and socializing. Growing up with ADHD is challenging enough. Going to school makes it even more challenging. A student with ADHD has a hard time concentrating in school and gets distracted a lot. It also can effect their grades. In third grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD and had to retake the grade all over again. It is not the best feeling in the world getting held back because you think you are stupid. A kid with ADHD will usually learn slower than the rest of the other kids in their class. Sometimes they won't even understand what is going on at all. Since they can't learn like the other kids and can't be put into a special needs class, they have to get special accomodation from the teacher. That makes it seem to them and other kids that they are getting special attention, but it really isn't. Help from the teacher after class most likely will make the child understand more and feel smarter. However, there is exceptions to the type of special accomodation ever student with ADHD gets. Like, getting extra notes written out for you or getting extended time on test taking. These accomodations do make things easier for the student in school. Getting held back was an awful experience at the time, but now I know that I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't. When I got diagnosed with ADHD, I also had to start taking medicine to help control my hyperactivity and inattentiveness. Although, it did take a long time to find just the right one. Not all medication is the same, and every person with ADHD will probably have to take a specific kind. It does not cure ADHD. It only can make things easier for kids to be less impulsive and distracted in school. Some people have learned to grow out of taking medication for their ADHD because they usually feel like they can control it better later on in life. Futhermore, taking medication as a kid or teen is the building blocks to controlling their ADHD on their own. Not everyone will probably completely grow out of taking medication. Some people don't even believe in taking medication or sometimes never find the perfect kind to take. Still to this day, I get my perscription changed every now and then. Also, it is difficult to remember taking medication every single day, but it mostly will start to become a habit. A lot of kids still think that they don't need to take medication depending on how strong their disorder may seem. Therefore, taking medication should be a good advantage in helping deal with ADHD in a healthier way. Another struggle kids with ADHD have in school is making friends and keeping those friends. A lot of the friends they have will probably not understand what it's like to have ADHD. So, it makes it a lot harder to make friends because of the way they act. A lot of the times they will speak without thinking or interrupt another person's conversation. Some kids may claim to call a kid with ADHD 'annoying'. Later on, a kid will sometimes have to learn how to be less impulsive in order to make friends. While, they might be hurt a lot in the process. Kids with ADHD have to learn from their mistakes maybe more than once to make it easier to have a better social life. Although, kids without ADHD shouldn't give them such a hard time about it. Once a kid gets to know someone with ADHD better, they may come to find that they actually like that person. It is very difficult to go through the hard times of grade school for any kid, and kids with ADHD will usually not understand what it's like to be normal like their other friends. All they really need is support from their family, teachers and the friends they do make. Even after all of these years of having ADHD, I still have a lot of trouble and still will. ADHD is not something you can grow out of, it is something you have to be able to control and handle. The most common things that will always be tough to handle are getting special accomodation in school, having to take the right medication, and socializing in the real world. Living with ADHD is not like having a normal life, but we have to deal with it in the best way we can. Just like everyone else.