You'll grow out of it….

[Anonymous]

I was a kid in the 80’s. I don’t know how far the rest of the world had come regarding ADD during that time frame, but I was told I would grow out of it. ……………………………still waiting…………

Oh, while I’m at it …..Back then my dad got a book from the library called Square Pegs in Round Holes. All through adolesence he told everyone I had a BRAIN DISFUNCTION so all the kids called me stupid, retard and even Ritalin (which is not really a name at all unless you’re a pill). Please avoid this book like black death.

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[BuxomDiva]

Actually Abby, at one time ADHD was called Minimal Brain Dysfunction in the DSM – something like that anyway – the labels they stick on these conditions change from time to time.

Sorry you had such a painful childhood. I was stuck in gifted classes with undiagnosed and untreated ADHD so school was not a picnic for me either.

Do you have kids of your own yet? Seems we do pass it on to them; my younger son’s ADHD is very different from mine but it defintely impacts his life quite strongly.

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[Anonymous]

Yes, textbook add. We understood him. The rest of the world did’nt. Unfortunately he got stuck in advanced classes we could’nt get him out of and he died of suicide last year at 15.

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[Anonymous]

Abby there is nothing I can say you haven’t heard already but you telling us of your Son’s death touched close to home. A kindred spirit lost.

I seen a clip of the Totally ADD and Lovin’ it documentary where a Doctor said that there were things done to treat AD/HD when he started out that he’d consider malpractice today.

That book your Father found, for it’s time was written on much smaller understanding of AD.HD. It should be moved to the history section. Square pegs in round holes indeed!

Are you currently being treated for ADD? If you have a professional confirm it;s still with you then stop waiting and start doing. Write it down and if you can’t remember what to talk to the Doc about just give him/her the paper. the questions it’d bring up will get things moving in the right direction…

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[Anonymous]

I was an 80s kid too… even in the 90s they were telling me I’d “grow out of it” Welllll I’m still waiting!

Sorry to hear about your loss I lost my cousin to suicide, partially stemming from school/aptitude related stuff.

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[trashman]

I had to give some input sorry to here about your son. I went to school in the 70’s @ 14 leaving school and having add and not knowing thinking back explanes alot. I think having add and thinking of death as a way to solve all the things one has no control over i am wondering if it is a very strong charateristic of add. i often have felt that way. to be truthfull i still do on a daily bassis. i do think people are creawl but people would talk down about me after i was dead so one strange reason to keep living and with my track record i would get that wrong. i think it is great and we can be so honest hear. if i told you my story it might make your head spin my phyc. doc said i cant change all the things that hapen so i should get over it and move on. that is easyer said then done. people have allways used lables on me they seam to stay with me . i could continue by going on about my past .the only things i would like to add is as a rule lables are incorect they are trying to put around person in a sqaure hole. thanks all for letting me go on this is good therapy for me .you people are greatest bunch this old dog has had the pleasure to meet.keep it coming ilove all your in sight.

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[Anonymous]

Abby Normal, I love your screen name but most particularly your icon!!!!

Pete and Pete for the freaking winnnnnnn!!!

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[Anonymous]

At least you all had a clue as to what might be wrong with you. I’m a child of the 50s and 60s, and I, like everyone else, had no idea such a thing as ADD even existed. I thought my condition was called “stupid”, lazy”, “you’ll never get anywhere in life”, and the ever-enjoyable “you just need to apply yourself”. Now that we’re more enlightened we know better, but for me being in my late 50s it’s almost too late. I wish I had known this in my younger days, it would have saved me a lot of grief!

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[sketchesnscribbles]

Whoever said that ADD is a childhood disability that you simply ‘grow out of’ obviously doesn’t know their own ignorance when it stares them in the eye. You don’t grow out of ADD, you grow with it. You adapt to it, sometimes you conform to it. Adapting to our challenges is the key to surviving our own chaotic world that we live in.

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[blackdog]

In the 1980’s it was believed that ADD was only present in childhood and that people grow out of it by their teens or early twenties. Keep in mind it had only just been identified as a disorder and very little was understood about it then.

Opinions on the persistence of ADHD into adulthood vary widely. Few studies have been conducted and mostly only with small groups. Also, there is a wide discrepancy between studies based on self reports vs. studies based on parent reports. The percentage is significantly higher when based on parent reports than when based on self reports.

I believe that it never really goes away. I think we all have it to varying degrees our whole lives. But for some the presentation can change to the point where it really isn’t noticeable anymore. And some of us learn to cope better than others. It depends a lot on your environment, how much support you have and the circumstances of your life.

 

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[jojosephine]

Yep I was diagnosed in the 80’s and had no idea that my suffering in Adulthood was due to ADD.  I thought I was lazy and I was being punished for my horrible decisions in life. I had never even considered it a possibility (probably because I thought I would “grow out of it”. And the therapists and psychologists I saw in the 90’s, 00’s or the 10’s, never considered either. It was me who stumbled upon it when I was researching my son’s condition. Big “AHA” moment.

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[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

The funny thing is that several of the doctors we have interviewed have said they were quite clear that ADHD did not disappear with puberty, and they could see the parents of the kids they were treating were suffering. And this was back in the 80’s.

What’s amazing to me is how often it is missed today. It’s like some Doctors, especially younger ones, are trained and understand it. And others know nothing, or have a sense of what it is but are realllllly uncomfortable treating it.

I keep saying to people, you have to educate yourself, then educate your doctor.

Actually, come to think of it, it’s why we’ve created this website, all the videos, and everything we do.

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[jojosephine]

Yes I have learned a lot from this site. Thank you 🙂

mmmm I wonder if it was my mom knew it lasted into adulthood. I will have to ask her. Even though she claims not to remember much about it.

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[Patte Rosebank]

Maybe people are so quick to believe that “you’ll grow out of it”, because they’re afraid of facing the truth:  that this condition is permanent and lifelong, like most other genetic conditions.

It’s easier to handle all kinds of scary, overwhelming concepts, if you keep telling yourself, “It’s just a temporary phase.”

But if you keep your head buried in the sand like that, you leave yourself vulnerable to troubles that you can’t see coming until they knock you flying.

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