Hurts, don't it?

It honestly shocks me given the number of people who have these exact same experiences that we cant do a better job of recognizing and supporting people.

You could put my photo and name in that and leave the text exactly the same and it would mirror my experience growing up.

It honestly shocks me given the number of people who have these exact same experiences that we cant do a better job of recognizing and supporting people.
I think its only a recent idea that people learn in different ways. Making a single curriculum is hard enough, making bespoke ones for each person tailored to their strengths and weaknesses requires far more resources than most educational systems have.
- It's not about changing the curriculum, while it would be awesome it's not always possible. Instead I would have found someone identifying kids with ADHD and just explaining that they know I was doing 110%, but my brain just doesn't let me learn in the same way sometimes. A focus on "it's the system, NOT a your fault (try harder) issue".
- I really hope this can be improved with AI. A teacher can teach in ways that are effective for most students, but not all. But an LLM can scale up more than a teacher. Hopefully educators can somehow leverage that tech as a tool to multiply their own effectiveness.
- I feel like The Dragon Speech is relevent here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBrj4S24074
  Overall it's a fantastic speech that is well worth a watch, but I found the relevent parts here: https://www.erasmatazz.com/library/the-journal-of-computer/jcgd-volume-6/i-had-a-dream.html
  Suppose that, instead of giving a lecture to 170 people as I did at the conference, I were to meet with each of them individually. Suppose I took one person off into a little room and there we had an interactive conversation instead of an expository lecture.
  ...then my partner would be involved. The juices would be flowing faster, his mind would be going a mile a minute, and he’d learn a lot more, wouldn’t he? From my point of view, I’d be getting my point across a lot more effectively, wouldn’t I? But the problem was, there were 170 people in that lecture room, and only one of me, and if I used the interactive method, I’d still be conversing with individuals. The expository method is so much more efficient.
  And that is the nature of the problem. The interactive conversation is effective, but the expository lecture is efficient...every communicator has been forced to sacrifice effectiveness for efficiency -- until now. Because now we have a technology that changes all that. With the computer, I can take my ideas and express them in the form of algorithms, and then I can code those algorithms in a program, and put that program on a floppy disk, and then we can mass produce that disk. We can make millions of copies of that disk and spread it all over the world so that millions of people can play my game. They can interact with my ideas. Because they are interacting, I achieve effectiveness. Because we are mass producing the disks, I achieve efficiency. This is the revolutionary significance of the computer. It allows us to have both effectiveness and efficiency.
  It's been many years since I've been in a classroom, but I feel like we could and should have a highly advanced system for individualizing education in a way that works with most learning styles.
I don't have ADHD (at least I don't really think I do) but it's very relatable to me too.
As in most things I'm sure ADHD exacerbates this, but I think it's also just part of life in a modern era.
I only have so much brain power to spend in a given day. I'm sure everyone is the same, neuro divergent or normative. Some tasks are burn through more brain power than others.
I have lots of ideas about things I ought to do, but ultimately I just don't have the bandwidth.

If not for programming, I would have ended up a hobo without real qualifications but well versed in science fiction.

Same. I’d be working dead end jobs if I didn’t get lucky and land a job at the Genius Bar at Apple which then let me up skill as a programmer. Don’t work for Apple now but they saved my life man.

Yup. At least I had the benefit of not really caring. I passed with Bs and Cs. Nothing particularly interested me. But if I find something I actually want to do? I will skip meals accidentally because brain is going brrrr and will not stop.

Spotted the fellow combined-type sufferer
- Hey what's that mean that's a new one to me
- Not sure that constitutes AuDHD.. I'm inattentive ADHD with a tendency to hyperfocas on things that I'm really interested in. It's worse if I've taken my meds too because then I'm locked in, hunter is suppressed.. I literally don't need food when I'm working on something I love.
My GPA was 2.5 or something when I graduated high school. Barely.
- My GPA was 3.7 when I graduated because my ability to focus was just long enough to complete high school level work mostly within class periods.
  University required taking initiative and time management and holy hell I completely bombed when I ran into those barriers.
- Yeah i just coasted on acing all my tests and quizzes, but i never studied and rarely did any homework. I paid attention in all my classes and loved learning, i just didn't see the need to do anything once i got home. I think part of the issue was moving around so much growing up, so schools never put me in advanced classes, except for math where i would fail because it was the first time i had to actually work to pass a class. I even had 4 semesters on the Deans list when i wentt to college, but i hit a wall and couldn't do anything outside of class so i had to drop out.

That is exactly my experience. But my mom wouldn't get me tested because she didn't want me to be "drugged up and not the real me"

Those 6 accursed words: "if you would only apply yourself."

Na, it's just one "should"
"You are so smart, you should be a xxxxx"
"you should find this easy, why didn't you pass"
"you got 97%, you should concentrate on what you got wrong"
"you should work harder, you could be great"

I’ve always been multi-faceted, but it’s trapped in a brain that fucking squanders it. I was diagnosed with ADHD in the 90s. Programmer for decades; sang in a band; been drawing off and on since I was a kid; have an insane ear for following drum arrangements and knowing what’s coming; ice and inline skater since I was a child (grew up playing hockey).

No energy or drive to put all of it to use. Terrible student and traditional teaching environments have never worked for me. I was always labeled “lazy” or hit with the same “he has potential, but […]” bullshit. Programming and computer science stuff were the only things that really panned out for me. Managed to make a career out of it, despite having garbage grades, so that’s been the upside. But I always have those daydreams that crop up where I wonder what could’ve been if I had stuck more heavily with hockey, singing, or art.

Regardless, I’m in my 40s now and I like who I’ve become at the end of it all, I still skate, and I’ve been getting back into art again. You have to keep reminding yourself that everyone’s measure for success is different and you have to refrain from attaching that success to some bullshit capitalist-driven metric that ultimately means fuck all.

Are you me? Love you internet bro <3
- What up, homie?! I love you back <3

Hold the fuck up. This is what everyone experiences, right? It’s not a sign of ADHD, is it? What the hell?! JFC social media is how I learned I have total aphantasia and I’m not ready for this.

It’s becoming one of those things where more and more people have some bits and pieces from the spectrum. I’m convinced that a big contributor is how stupidly fast-paced our society is, and the amount of information we are expected to constantly be processing.
- The massive flood of information and things to remember/learn/stay on top of absolutely makes the symptoms mkre apparent and the effects more frustrating.
- Not sure what prompted it, but I have you tagged as my favorite fediverson for brilliance, kindness, and humor.
I've read before that there is a lot of overlap with aphantasia and ADHD. I also have aphantasia, and am pretty sure I have ADHD as well, so there's another +1 for that theory, I suppose.
I wonder about this as well
Aphabtasia isn't real.
INB4 any comments whatsoever.

An inability to keep to routines means an inability to learn new trades. There is so much I want to do but can't because I can never learn how.

It's why I'm a software engineer. It wasn't easy to get into it. I don't just "learn" once I get bored. I had to learn on the job. But it's something that presents different challenges every day and once a job has exhausted its learning potential, I move to the next one with a different tech stack so it's interesting again.

I usually was lucky enough to get hyper fixated just before exams due to my anxiety. So I was a straight-A student. But it was always a struggle against myself. And it kept getting harder as I got into college, and then university. I also constantly got the "not reaching my potential" line even though I was very good academically, since I sucked in the regular classes and only shined in exams. Basically, they thought that I could do even better if I could perform that well without even trying. (I was trying my best, or least as much as my monkey brain would allow me.)

I remember when I joined high school, people thought I was cheating in exams because I barely did homework (it wasn't graded, so didn't feel any pressure to do it well) and was frequently distracted. But soon enough they realized that it's just the way I was.

Even now, I need to give myself forced deadlines by promising my colleagues/superiors so that the anxiety of embarrassment forces me to actually do my work. I want to get a diagnosis, but you guys know how hard it is for us to get motivated for that.

"He has so much potential, if only he would apply himself" - overhearing a teacher talking to my parents. Spoiler alert adults, I physically couldn't.

I cannot describe the visceral loathing for that phrase I have

Wasn't this just everyone's normal experience growing up? Or do I need to do an ADHD test or something?

I thought the same thing, so I took the test and yes ADD for me (though I was never hyperactive)

I did well in school until I started college. The freedom kicked my ass. Only took my 15 years for a BS.

Similar here. I finished at 34 and only then because I studied a field I intensely enjoyed. I can only imagine how different things might be if I had been diagnosed in my teens instead of my forties.
- Ok that’s just weirdly Deja vu. I was almost 34 when I finished mine. The only reason I was able to finish mine is because I worked for the university and the classes were free.

I lapsed on getting my Adderall refilled for about a month (yay self-fulfilling prophecy kinda). Finally got back on it this week and single-handedly resolved an issue on one of our big tools here at work that has been plaguing us for a couple years now.

I'm gonna ride that high for a while.

How do you even get diagnosed

I got diagnosed a few months ago at 37. I live in the US and have Kaiser as my insurance provider. I tried to go through them and they wanted me to jump through several hoops. Stop drinking and smoking weed for 6 weeks, get school transcripts from as far back as elementary school, and even then they said they were very busy and appointments were tough to get in a timely manner. I found a place nearby that specialized in mental health "through the lens of ADHD" but did not take any kind of insurance. It was pricey but if it helps I think it's worth it. I set up my initial evaluation, answered some questions, filled out some forms, went to the evaluation and got diagnosed. $800 so far. They offered a few treatment options: therapy, executive function coaching, and medication. For the coaching they recommend weekly or biweekly sessions for about 6 months. Wasn't trying to spend that much at this point. Don't remember how much they wanted for the therapy. I went the medication route, there was an initial virtual session followed by an in-person session which I did this week. They gave me a good explaination about what ADHD is and what it does, as well as what some of the more commonly used meds do, and put me on a starting dose of ritalin which I might pick up today. I have a follow up appointment in about a month where they'll evaluate if the ritalin is a good option and if they need to adjust the dose. I think so far it's cost me about $2000, but once we find out the right meds and dosage my doc at Kaiser said he's open to having those transfered to the Kaiser pharmacy.
Get in touch with a therapist. Talk to therapist about struggles. Therapist may recommend seeing a doctor or psychiatrist (or may even have a psychiatrist onsite) that can help with diagnosing.
FYI - it's not always ADHD. Sometimes it's anxiety, or PTSD, or a number of other things. Either way, you'll learn a lot about yourself in therapy.
- What if i don't have insurance because i work for a small company that doesn't have to provide it?

Hey, I resemble that remark! Diagnosed in my 40s and still can't get stimulant meds because drug cartels or some shit

Also diagnosed in my 40s. Knock over a Walgreens or something, man. These drugs unlocked my super powers.

I see this differently: Whenever I enter a new environment everyone immediately sees my potential and gives me better deals (not money, I'm trying to be as abstract as possible).

In other words, I scam everyone because people really care about projected potential. They give me stuff because of my potential which will never come.

Girls, internships, etc.

So no, the teacher didn't see your potential. You scammed them with your adhd coping mechanisms.

TIL I'm a natural scammer

Edit: I meant well with this comment but it sounded more self promo than I like

I see the OP and hope that's who it actually is because he's awesome. Cool to see someone I respect and admire on Lemmy so soon after joining.

Right then, onto the topic and off of the OP.

This is me as well, never been diagnosed but I check all the boxes. Underachiever, always heard I was destined for great things. One teacher even predicted I'd make the next Star Wars movie. This was after Jedi and before Phantom Menace. I hope that teacher never blamed me for Jar-Jar. Wasn't me, I swear. Now Clones, I can get behind.

I recently (last couple years) heard a song that really speaks to me... except I can't understand the words. It's in Japanese. Japanese rap duo Creepy Nuts. They've done a few anime series but this one is one of their originals. They always have sharp and witty lyrics. I fear the lyrics on the official video are machine translated, maybe there are some better ones out there, but I feel the singer is speaking to all of us here.

(If it's catchy it's because nearly all Japanese syllables are open-ended, which means they end in a vowel, so rhyming gets real fun.)

The song is "To Us Former Prodigies" and here is the official YouTube video for it. You can read the translated lyrics if you hit the [CC] button. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dAzUOzWvrk

Howd you get over that struggle?

Medication and therapy help