ADHD Women

You just copy what other people are doing. When I got my first real job I was just looking at what coworkers where doing and doing the same. After a while you'll understand the why and improve things etc, after a while new people will look at you.

Tests as we fo them are such an outdated way of education. Is the point to make people learn things, or judge their memorization?

I'm grateful that your kid has a parent that's looking out for him.

A key part of this meme is how many of us could "pass" in a school environment by one particular metric (grades), yet meeting that metric doesn't translate to success in life. Passing tests and getting high grades are things that we are told are important, but they only matter for that short period at the beginning of our lives.

As a former ADHD student - getting good grades doesn't matter as much as developing coping skills that we can use as adults. Schools don't teach that. They want us to get good grades and obey our teachers, that's it. As a result, many of us (who were basically trained to be good students) have difficulty transitioning to adult responsibilities, which are very different.

Decades of "teach to the test" and dumbing down of the educational system has resulted in many of us slipping through the cracks when it comes to practical skills. It's still a lovely thing for a kid to get good grades, but it's crucial not to consider it the most important part of education.

Thankfully, it sounds like you're the supportive type of parent. I hope you understand any rants here are not related to you, I'm just still annoyed by the school system and its misplaced priorities.

ADHD diagnosis doesn't automatically mean stimulants. I think this post is about diagnosis. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 27 years old.

I had good grades. I somewhat succeeded in my job. But it absolutely tore me apart without even knowing it. I ended up with depression and severe anxiety. Drugs or no drugs, it would have helped me so much to know there are neurotical reasons for why I always felt like something was wrong. That my world is different from other people's. Psychotherapy alone does wonders.

Also, ADHD meds (if dosed and used correctly) just raise certain neurotransmitters to a regular level. They are mind altering in the sense that they make your brain function as intended. Doing that may not always be necessary, but they're not like recreational drugs.

We should delegate these decisions to professionals because otherwise, parents like you who go on vibes cause tremendous suffering in aggregate.

Any treatment requires a willing kid and parent, but doesn’t the doctor’s expertise and recommendation outweigh your lack of expertise? I have a degree in this stuff and I would still prefer to take the advice of someone who knows better.

The problem is, it’s easy for us to think we know something that we don’t. Often, we don’t have the breadth and depth of knowledge to make a reasoned decision that is better than the judgment of a specialist.