I think I have ADD but my parents will never believe me...?

Question

Yeah so, I'm usually an A/B student, but that was because I never really had to try hard. I never had to do any work. I figured I'd give myself a challenge for senior year, but I'm averaging D's.

I always draw in class. I can't take notes and I can barely follow along with the lessons. Something always distracts me. I can never concentrate on or complete my homework.

It never occured to me that I might have ADD. I always joke around and say that my little brother has ADHD and I've seen shows on the discovery health channel about kids who have ADD and ADHD, but it never occured to me.

I really think this could be serious, but I know my Dad will just say I'm making excuses for my poor grades and dismiss the issue.

Could I have ADD? Should I tell him?

ADD is not just I childhood diagnosis. I'm a nerd so I watch discovery health channel all the time and I go on Yahoo Health. It's actually doctors are more hesitant to diagnose small children with ADD and I've seen people featured who didn't get ADD until they were like 18 and 22.

And I don't have senior-itis. If I could I would do all my work. My parents are so strict. Senior-itis is a concious attitude when you just say "who cares?" I

I care!

To Buffalo: I didn't/still don't focus on easy classes. They reason why I did well was because I didn't need to focus.

I keep adding details because this is so serious and I want everyone to fully understand the situation so I can get some meaningful advice.

Answer 1

If you seriously think you may have ADD or ADHD definitely discuss it with your parents and tell them why you may be feeling this way..... if they feel it is an excuse encourage them to make an appointment with your doctor anyway ... if needed word it as to rule it on or out as a reason for your grades falling... the doctor will be able to to give or refer you to a doctor that will administer test to see if this is what is really going on... good luck

Answer 2

It sounds as though you might be naturally gifted since you didn't have to work hard for A and B grades. I don't know for sure, of course, but the issue now could be that you might not know how to put in the work towards a more challenging class (since good grades came easily in classes that did not challenge you). I was like that in HS (the first time I had to work hard for a grade, I thought there was something wrong with me since I struggled for the first time). You could also be distracted just because you are in your last year of HS. Some distractions are natural. If your interested in these new classes you're taking but struggling, try to get some tutoring or after school help if possible to keep your grades up. It might be a good idea to talk with your parents and they can help you get to the heart of the issue.

Answer 3

Well one thing you do not want it if you can help it.

Another thing is go get checked out by a doctor. Your parents maybe saying this cause this is something that runs in family's. If you have it you got it from someone on either side of your family.

Mental illnesses are the "in" thing these days. ADD/ADHD are symptoms of other more serious illness's such as Aspergers syndrome a recognized form of autism.

I am ADHD and would love for it to just go away! It is seen in more boys then girls. Girls have a way of hiding this that boys do not. It is a fact that people with this are usually up there on the scale of intelligence . Learning disabilities are very common (we do not process information as everyone else), as well as a host of other problems with the public school systems.
ADD/ADHD peeps who are artistic usually do VERY well!

We are stimulation hounds and if something bores us, good luck getting it done.....

There are medications out there to help with the symptoms but none that take ADHD/ADD away.

Two of my children are ADHD one is diagnosed also with Aspergers syndrome. Another of the boys has the symptoms of Aspergers syndrome. Like I said we would love for this not to be!

Go get seen by a doctor....

Answer 4

If you had ADD, you would not have been able to focus in the easier classes either. In addition, ADD does not equal bad grades. I have it and held straight A's up to high school. Then the grades dropped because of me, not the ADD. An interesting challenge tends to help ADD sufferers focus more. If you are really concerned about it you need to tell him or that is what you will focus on.

In that case you need to tell your dad and get checked out before you fall to far behind. Be careful with medications if you go that route, some can make you quite tired and unable to focus (go figure).

Answer 5

print out the symptoms of ADD off the computer and show it to your parents. If they really know you, they should recognize it if you share the same characteristics.
If your parents won't believe you, try your teachers or school counselor or family doctor.

I have had ADD all my life but never knew that's what was wrong with me until I was 35 when I finally got diagnosed (discovered during marital counseling).

good luck. I hope you get help. ADD can be SO disruptive!

Answer 6

your a little old to just be now getting the diagnosis. are you having any mood symptoms like depression or feeling on high?

You could be experiencing depression or bipolar.

Or you could just have senior-itis and wanting to get the hell out of there. Buckle down you arent in 5th grade anymore and things are only going to get harder. Study more. dont drink so much caffine. Its too late for add to come on. Thats a childhood diagnosis.

Answer 7

Oh, we all have ADD any more. Kick you *** in gear and start taking life seriously. Stop eating fast food, junk food and prepared food. Don't drink so much soda with sugar in it. Drink a lot of water. Eat 3 well balanced meals a day, and eat fruit (apples are great) and veggies (those little carrots) and yogurt for snacks. If you buds start teasing you, get new friends. Your health comes first. Make sure the fruit juice you drink doesn't have artificial flavors and colors in it. Good luck.

Answer 8

Parents don't always understand their kid's problems so you would be wise to talk with a counselor at your school. They are really cool and they know how to help,
Good Luck.

Answer 9

Pharmaceutical companies and psychiatrist have gone to bed to create one the biggest profit centers in the history of legal drugs.

Ask yourself this question and really think about the answer. What kind of society drugs its’ children to force their compliance with the system? Drugging has become a tool of conformity and control.

The DEA found that methylphenidate had nearly identical effects on humans as amphetamines and cocaine.

This powerful stimulant, that has the highest abuse potential and dependence profile of all drugs that have medical usefulness, is prescribed mostly to children. By the mid nineties, methylphenidate sales leveled off at 11 million prescriptions per year. Around that time the sales of other amphetamines (primarily Adderall, used for treatment ADD and ADHD) increased from 1.3 million prescriptions in 1996 to 6 million prescriptions by 2000. According to United Nations data the United States of America consumes 85% of all methylphenidate production. Of this 85%, 80% is prescribed to children. Apparently, ADD and ADHD are not common afflictions in other parts of the world.

In 1985, 500,000 American kids were diagnosed with ADHD. Today, between over 7 million children in the United States are labeled with this disorder.

What happened in the nine years between 1991 and 2000? In 1991, the United States Department of Education made children with ADD and ADHD eligible for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Act. In 1991, kids diagnosed with ADHD or ADD became eligible and entitled to extra government funding for their schools. School districts across America now had a financial incentive to label kids with ADD and ADHD.

It is pretty clear that we have become a society that drugs its’ children for financial gain and to force compliance with the system. Schools have a financial incentive, but why would parents drug their kids? Some parents who resist are threatened by schools and social workers. They are told refusing to medicate their kids is akin to abuse.

Many parents cooperate in the drugging of their children, because if their kids have a “disease”, it is not the parent’s fault. Behavior problems are the parent’s fault, while a disease is out of their control. Parents are labeling their kids, so they do not have to take the responsibility for their child’s behavior. This behavior may be nothing more than rebellion to conformity, but nonetheless embarrassing to the parents. Support groups for parents further these beliefs. Not surprisingly, groups like CHADD, Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, are funded by Ciba/Novartis, maker of Ritalin.

Worse yet, they are teaching these kids that they are not responsible for their behavior either. If they misbehave, it is the disease in control. Then they drug the kid and credit the medication for his good behavior. These drugged kids become nothing but shells of human beings, not responsible for themselves and addicted to powerful drugs.

ADD is not even a real disease. According to Merriam- Webster’s Dictionary, ADD is a syndrome of disordered learning and disruptive behavior that is not caused by any serious underlying physical or mental disorder and that has several subtypes characterized primarily by inattentiveness or primarily by hyperactivity and impulsive behavior or by the significant expression of both. There are no physical or chemical abnormalities conclusively associated with ADHD.

Diagnosis of ADD comes from observation of the subject. How can you diagnosis a mental disorder, like attention deficit, by observation of physical activity? The people who diagnose children do not have any idea of the mental functioning of the subject’s brain. By the syndrome’s name it implies that the subject can not keep his attention focused, he has lack of attention. You could possibly say a person’s attention was not on a certain subject, but that does not mean his attention wasn’t totally focused on something else.

Some neurologists believe ADD is a sham. Fred A. Baughman, Jr., M.D., a Chief of Neurology (Board Certified) Fellow, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology said, “In numbers unmatched in any part of the world, U.S. school children are diagnosed and drugged in a quid pro quo association between education and for-profit psychiatry and psychology. Labeled ‘brain-diseased’, the schools have an excuse for the rampant illiteracy and unpreparedness, cause enough for the mounting unhappiness and failure of the children, while psychiatry/psychology gains lifetime patients….. Parents, wake up! Do you really believe that your child, seemingly normal until eight (the average age of diagnosis) has a ‘brain disease’ due to a ‘chemical imbalance of the brain’, diagnosed by a teacher? I don't think so. .... As a child neurologist for 35 years, I have authored original descriptions of real diseases characterized by objective abnormalities. Witnessing the burgeoning numbers of school children said to have A.D.D. and made to take brain-altering drugs, I have found I can validate none of it.”

Over 7 million little “square peg” children line up every morning to swallow down powerful drugs. ADD and ADHD would be better labeled PDD, Parental Deficit Disorder.

Answer 10

talk to your school counselor.