Tell that to my 19 year old daughter who has fought with ADHD and depression her whole life. Nothing fake about it. Nothing.
A struggle is not a disease.
Yes of course it is a real condition, many people on here are ignorant and shallow and accept the talking points w/o having any real knowledge. maybe ADHD is overdiagnosed and over medicated but it is very real for many many people.
"Tell that to my 19 year old daughter who has fought with ADHD and depression her whole life. Nothing fake about it. Nothing."
Don't think twice about the utter ignorance of these people. The problem with looking at it from an adolescent standpoint is that sometimes, it emulates the immature way kids will act. So ignorant people say it is just kids being kids and blame the teachers. While behavioral problems shouldn't always be blamed on ADHD, it is a VERY REAL problem, especially in today's hustle and bustle world. ADHD people are usually very intelligent, and are many times very successful only because they keep cruising no matter what (people with the depression aspect have an extra challenge on them). But their poor brain changes channels from one subject to the next constantly. These people self medicate with alcohol (even though they are not alcoholics), with caffeine, and unfortunately many times with illicit amphetamines. It is medical fact that ADHD people get a calming effect from stimulants like Ritalin. That is fact. People who are not ADHD get hyper when they take Ritalin. While I agree that it is hard to tell in an adolescent, mainly because of the different maturity levels of kids of the same age, adults with ADHD will tell you, it is not fake. People need to stop listening to radio talk show hosts, and develop some critical thinking skills of their own.
Just curious...did ANYONE suggest changing her dietary routine?
My youngest daughter, also 19, kept getting into trouble at school because she gave teachers she didn't like a difficult time. The teachers complained that she had ADHD, which mysteriously disappeared when she took a class from a teacher she liked.
I took her to the counseling sessions, but did not put her on drugs, and she managed to graduate from high school in the middle of her class.
Now she is working to earn money for college, her goal is to become a therapist and work with disabled children.
My daughter's story is similar to yours, SoftballMom.
She was diagnosed by doctors at age 19, and the help she got changed her life. She was never hyperactive (except within her mind), and no teachers pushed any diagnosis or medication. She begged for help herself, after years of silent frustration. She went from an absolutely desperate state, to highly successful college senior in just a few years. What she suffered was painfully REAL.