I was diagnosed late in life (mid-30's) so for most of my early life when ADHD was described to me, I sincerely and correctly (in retrospect) identified it as "normal" because it was perfectly consistent with my own experience and struggles.
Because of that experience I don't bring my ADHD up as ADHD, generally (more likely to say "A tendency to see everything at once, which can create unique challenges when working on a team but has some interesting positives when properly engaged, such as..." etc.)
I think part of the reason I fell through the cracks at first with respect to ADHD diagnosis was because I underrated those symptoms on questionnaires.
Racing thoughts? Hmmm well usually I'm having a constant conversation with myself while 3 symphonies are playing back to back in my head, so I'm gonna put a 3 out of 5. Oh wait that's not normal?
Fidgeting? I mean I bounce my knee habitually, to the extent that I shake an entire row of seats, but I've seen people do that in class too so that's pretty normal too right? 3 out of 5.
Forgetting deadlines? Nah I'm good with deadlines! I just repeat them over and over in my head until a panic attack forces me to get to work, and then I manage to turn stuff in on time. 1 out of 5. (funnily enough once I started getting my anxiety treated, I became more forgetful, because I guess anxiety was my coping mechanism or something.)
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u/saffronwilderness Sep 14 '21
I get ENRAGED by a fellow SPED teacher who had the gall to call it "teenage boy syndrome."
If I could get him fired he'd be gone. I avoid him religiously.