just got diagnossed last week and an introduction (long)

[Anonymous]

i guess since i have posted on a couple threads i should introduce myself.

my name is jennifer, im 30 and have 2 kids. an 11 year old girl named natasha who was diagnosed with adhd inattentive type just over 3 years ago and learning disabilities in june and a 4 year old boy named dawson who is the complete opposite of natasha, hes a very busy boy.

i tell people all the time that natasha is me all over again. my mom saved my report cards and i have compared them to natashas, everything the teachers said about me her teachers have said about her, everything i had troubles with, she has troubles with, so since she was diagnosed with adhd i have figured i have it too but didnt think it was causing that much of a problem in my life until…

last year i decided to go back to school, i am taking early childhood education online, i was unable to get any kind of funding to help pay for the course so i decided to get a job, i spent 9 months working at a daycare that is a 25 min drive from me, my kids went to a daycare close to home. i had a couple problems at that job, telling parents too much even though i knew i wasnt supposed to, i just couldnt stop myself, the busier times of the day left me feeling overwhelmed and unable to be effective, it was too hard to figure out just where to focus my attention. i often forgot some of the jobs i needed to do, but i still didnt think i had a problem. then a job became available at the daycare closer to home, they were opening a new, bigger center, who wouldnt want to work close to home and where their kids go to daycare? so i applied and got the job, yay! i started june 7th, i was with a different age group then my other job – toddlers, 18 of them. this room was very busy all the time. the director called me into her office after the first week to have a chat, mostly compliments, good energy and doing well, a few weeks later i was called in again, i had some things i needed to work on but it didnt seem to be a big deal, needed to focus on the job more, i was talking a bit too much to other staff and to parents, needed to help out with the “house keeping” jobs a bit more (i was already talking to the other teacher in the room trying to figure out how i could best help out) and needed to interact with all the kids not just a few. i worked on this, i really tried and thought i was doing well but it just wasnt enough. the end of august i was called into the office again and told they were unable to continue my contract beyond the probationary period and had 2 weeks left of work. i was devastated. i had worked so hard and that was where i wanted to be! i finally realized i had more of a problem then i thought and went to my doctor the next week. i talked to her about the troubles i have had in my life and that i thought i had adhd like natasha, she took me seriously, prescribed strattera (which is what natasha takes) and referred me to a doctor who has an interest in adults with adhd and learning disabilities. i saw him last week and he gave me the diagnosis of adhd inattentive type.

after meeting with my doctor i went to the director and told her what was going on and said a lot of the problems i had were probably related to the adhd and asked if this would change anything with my job, she asked me to write a letter to the board and she would take it to them to see what they would decide. it was still a no even with me suggesting things that would make the job easier for me, like regular team meetings to discus my performance and go over what is expected of me, especially if the expectations change, and to have more things written out for me so i can regularly go over them.

im trying to figure out where to go from here but it sure is a relief to have been taken seriously and to know why i have always had problems with things and to know that there are things that can be done to make my life easier.

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