It’s Okay You Didn’t Know You Had ADHD!

Until I knew, I didn’t know.

Photo by Tara Winstead from Pexels

Where I’m at -

I have been teaching special education for over 20 years. I earned advanced degrees in special education, educational psychology, and school counseling. I saw plenty of boys in all grades that fit the criteria to a T. But I was never a hyperactive 8-year-old boy!

And yet, I related to the girls in my classes with the ADHD diagnosis so much! They are quirky and hyper-fixated on things they love and uninterested in the uninteresting. I was always that! But it took so many years for me to really make the connection.

And every book or article I read about females with ADHD, every podcast episode and TikTok video I heard, every first hand account from other women that I came across led me to where I am right now.

Where it started —

I’m Gen X and a high achiever and a good, quiet girl… all the traits that no one ever looked at. Even when I did great in some classes and couldn’t get it together in others. Even when I would write an essay in one draft right before it was due and get an A. Even when I crashed and burned trying to manage a college schedule, pick one (only one) major, and manage my time. Even when people always said I was too emotional, too sensitive, too spacey, too excited about the things that I loved.

Why it’s okay for me — and for you

We learned, or are learning, or suspecting, that all the disorganization, quirks, inconsistencies, and emotional disregulation might have been for another reason besides what we were told growing up. For me it has been a challenge to get actual help because the medical community keeps looking at how I was labeled in the past. If you know what this feels like, I get it!

And now?

It’s ironic in a way that my ADHD brain is focused on learning more about adults who are only now finding out they might have ADHD or other neurodivergent ways of thinking.

This is exactly what I’m doing and I’m loving it! Learning and sharing; learning from others’ sharing.

We got this! It’s okay we didn’t know we had ADHD. We are doing what we always have done — figuring it out as we go.