[Babyjo]

Thanks everyone! Sorry it took me so long to comment back, I have ADHD (you may have noticed) and I would read your statements, then realize I wasn’t logged in and couldn’t comment. When you log in, it sends you back to the homepage and you have to make your way back to the forums. Well, I saw something shiny on the way back…

Anyway, really good suggestions. Writing down questions is a simple – and really good – one that I forgot to use. My issue is not knowing the difference between interjecting and interrupting, and that’s where I step on toes. :/ But writing it down lets me get my REALLY IMPORTANT THING out of my head, and I don’t feel as anxious. Does anyone know what I mean when I saw that the paper has it now? It’s like it’s out of my head and in the paper and now I can relax. Can’t believe I didn’t think of it.

Galadriel, I do that too. I think we probably all do. Ever write down what you’re saying as you say it? LOL People are not allowed to talk to me when I’m typing/writing. I’ll start documenting our conversation without realizing it.
Marie Angel, I can never decide what the big point is, lol. It’s all desperately important, don’t you see?

The writing thing has worked well for me in the past, and I thank you all for the reminder. In order for it to be of use to me, I have to keep a notepad with me at all times, which we can all do, since we never walk away from things once we’ve set them down, right? 😉 So I have like a 6 pack of the little notepads. That way when I lose one (yes, when) I know there’s another nearby. And in class, if the teacher is talking and I have a REALLY IMPORTANT THING to say, I write it down and wait for a more appropriate opportunity to mention it. Part of my issue is I’m afraid I’ll forget what the really important thing was, so I have to say it RIGHTNOW before I forget.

Those of you who say writing doesn’t work for you, I’d ask you to try again. try it a little differently, tweak what didn’t work about it last time. Keep losing notepads? Buy 20. They can be had cheap at the dollar store. Writing takes too long?Limit yourself to only nouns and verbs (no articles/conjunctions = a, the, but, etc): “Ask Laurie dog” means I wanted to ask Laurie how her dog is doing after its surgery, but stops me from interrupting her during her lecture to ask.

Thanks for the reminders everyone. And remember, just because it didn’t work the first time, doesn’t mean it can’t work. It means you must try again. I love you all and I wish you the best.

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

But you guys make me feel less alone, at least!

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

Thanks Marie. It’s worth a shot!

The rest of you were not helpful at all, lol
Try Marie’s tip, couldn’t hurt

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

But for a few details, your story could almost be mine. You are on the right track. The advice I have (and you’ll probably fail, we all do, I did) is to not look back with bitterness or regret. All you can do is go forward. Educate yourself; it was a great comfort to me. Forgive yourself.

I have something for you. It’s a book on organization, and it was also more than that for me.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/organizing-solutions-for-people-with-attention-deficit-disorder-susan-c-pinsky/1102498245

A common theme throughout the book is to reduce the number of steps it takes you to do things, and buy more shelving. 🙂 Take a look. I found my copy at my local Half Price Books. It is mostly organization tips, and also the logic behind them. That’s what really got me, was how much sense she made about stop BS-ing that you don’t have ADHD, and just do what you need to do to deal with it. For me it was a message of self acceptance. And heck, if nothing else it really does have a lot of good tips.

I am also on Welbutrin, and my experience is that it didn’t do as much for the H in ADHD as I had hoped, but I am in a generally in a much better mood. I’m not as short of patience and I’m not snapping off at people all the time. I never thought I had a bad temper. I just thought other people were sissies. OK this started out as a book reference and turned into an essay, so I have to cut myself off. ADHD in evidence lol

You’ll be fine.

Also, more charts, if you forget stuff. Marry your day planner. It’s OK if you mess up, get back on the horse. You can do it.

OK I swear I’m done now. 🙂

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

omg I’m a mouth chewer and foot picker too! I thought it was just me! I love this site! I am currently recovering from a wound in my foot I caused trying to thin down a callous. Too funny. I noticed no tips for stopping the mouth chewing though. People think I’m a freak. Anyone overcome this one? I don’t care about the feet; I can wear shoes. But I always push on my lips to be able to nibble the insides and I look like an idiot.

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

ashockley, I really struggle with sleep too, and two things work really well for me. 1) exercise. My sis reports no benefits but if I work out before I go to bed I sleep lie a baby. And 2) for waking, I set an alarm to go off an hour before I have to be up, and take my morning dose. Then, at the appropriate time, I pop right out of bed, ready to start the day. I can’t believe it; it’s such a weird feeling, having plenty of time to get ready in the morning! I used to sleep until literally 10 minutes before I had to be out the door, take 20 minutes to go, and be late everywhere all the time. Taking the meds an hour before I have to get up was DEFINITELY the answer for me.

Also melatonin. It’s what our body produces naturally as we fall asleep anyway but our bodies may not produce enough for us to stay asleep. So you give your body that lil push and I can usually sleep uninterrupted. If I manage to do that and exercise I’m havin a good night. (and a productive morning!)

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

megady and MonekyBarb, you need this. We all do. I freaking love this book. You don’t have to get it on Amazon, I got one at half priced books for $10. http://www.organizationallyours.com/2010/02/08/organizing-for-addadhd/

It’s not so much teacher oriented as ADHD oriented, but the first part of the book she gives just general guidelines about how to organize when you have ADHD that translate easily to other areas of your life.

And Monkeybarb,

if he would blow you off, you have the wrong doctor. Is there a therapist you trust that could refer a new doctor? Having rapport and trust with your doctor is vital to your treatment. I myself am looking for a new doc b/c I just have never developed a rapport with her. She doesn’t like to talk about meds and that’s kind of the only reason I see her, so I decided to move on and find a doc willing to educate me more.

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

Also, wow the was a hell of a babble. I tend to do that when I’m upset 😉 lol I so overdetailed there

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

Hey thanks kc5jck. I ended up taking the advice of some of the aforementioned mentors, most of whom said subs don’t show up for one reason or another all the time, and not to make a big deal out of it but to never ever do it again. So far, so good!

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

At first I asked this of yahoo Answers but it occurred to me that you guys would get this better than any of them.

I’m a substitute teacher, and I forgot to go to work today. Just…forgot. I’m pretty open about the ADHD, and the district I work for is well aware of it. I get these one-day assignments day by day and I write them in my day planner, which I have been trying to train myself to use more regularly. Well, at some point last night I convinced myself that I didn’t have an assignment today. (I scheduled this assignment over two weeks ago.) So today I slept in, thinking the computer scheduling program that gives me assignments (www.aesopeducation.com) would alert me if something became available. One of the schools called me at about 8:30 but I ignored it since I had decided to spend the day doing chores. I don’t know how long it would have taken me to realize it, butat about 9:45 I saw an email notification saying my assignment had been cancelled for today! I was supposed to be there at 7:30. I immediately called the secretary and, despite having been advised to lie after the fact, told her the truth about simply having forgotten that I had a job assigned today. I know I completely screwed their morning. They have IED meetings (for parents of kids with various emotional or learning disabilities) and I was to supervise the lessons while the teacher was in the meeting. I don’t know if they had to cancel meetings, or… or what they had to do to compensate for my not showing up or even calling to let them know I wouldn’t be there. They found a replacement for me finally, but I feel just awful. To make matters worse, I came down with a bad cold Monday morning and had to call off that day, at the same school! So, I’ve stood them up twice in one week, although I was at least able to give them three hours’ warning the first time.

I would love some advice from professionals out there, especially anyone in education. If you were a principal, would you totally lose respect for me? I’m pretty sure they know I have ADHD, I’m pretty open about it. I’ve done other silly stuff like forget which teacher I came to sub for, showing up at the wrong school or on the wrong day (before now, a day early instead of late), and they’ve rolled with it and I’ve understood myself to have a pretty positive reputation. I don’t “hide behind the desk”, I’m not afraid to get out there and teach, the kids know and respect me and generally a good time is had by all, and the work gets done. I leave detailed behavior reports to hold the kids accountable (I usually sub for grades 5 and up. plenty old enough to understand and respect consequences) and let the teachers know what happened when they were gone. I just feel like I would want to know. Plus I make copies for myself and it’s kind of like a journal. In fact, I am in grad school to get my teaching license. That’s the other part of this dilemma: I’ve been cultivating a relationship with this district for years, I did my FEEP there, I’ve subbed there for two years, ideally I’ll do my student teaching there and the best thing would be if I could eventually teach there. It’s a low-income district and I love the staff and the kids and consider many among the staff mentors. I feel so awful for letting them down.

What can I do now? Damage control ideas? I thought of literally sending a fruit basket with a note of apology to the principal and office staff, or even to the asst superintendent, who is essentially my supervisor and in charge of substitutes. I’m sure she’ll hear of it. Or, I just shut up and let it blow over and resolve to NEVER EVER do it again.

REPORT ABUSE

[Babyjo]

Does anyone have any anti-procrastination tips? I just started grad school and I’m already falling behind. It’s week two, for God’s sake. They’re going to kick me out if I don’t pull a B in both classes. One of my classes is online and I am really struggling to make myself do it. Any tips? I’m on Adderall which helps the hyperactivity and impulsivity, but doesn’t seem to be doing shit for my concentration and focus.

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts