Hi my name is Staci and I'm 18, I recently read this article in a
magazine about ADHD and they described the symptoms and when I read
it I was like that it totally me. I always seem to day dream , im
always getting acused of being lazy, I always forget things, I get
angry very easily, I never can seem to sit still, and I really dont
know how to carry on a conversation(im just so shy), I also have
alot more of the symptoms but you get the idea. So I think I might
have ADHD, but im not sure, and when I told my mom about it she just
laughed, and then ignored the situation. I want to get checked out
but my mom wont get me checked out cause she doesnt believe I have
it, because she doesnt even really know what it is, and I dont want
to go get checked alone. Also if I make my mom go and then I dont
have it I will feel really stupid. What should I do, should I go,
and do you even think I have ADHD?

Staci,
You are 18 now. So. you can legally go see a doctor about this without your mom even being there. She may not even know that. Next time you go to the dr they will ask you to sign a release to give her info. And if you have insurance, they will require a release to talk to her about you, even if she is the one carrying the insurance. I say send her www.bigsplace and tell her all the info she needs is on this site. In the meantime, go to the doctor.

I'm sorry I havn't written back in a while but I've been busy. I don't know how to talk to my mom about ADHD, and I know I'm 18 and all so I could go to the doctor myself but I wouldnt know what to say to him, especially since im real shy around people. I was talking about ADHD with my mom and my sister and my sister said that in one of her classes that she was taking, for got what it was called, they said there was no more ADD, she said that means that you can't just have one of the things. She said that you can't just be inattentive, you have to have all three things, inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive. I tried to tell her she was wrong but she wouldnt listen, so now her and my mom don't think I have it just becuase of what one of her teachers told her. Is that true? Do you have any addvice for me to try and talk with my mom, and family. Cause I have a real stubborn family, and so they won't really believe me, but I want them to believe me. Thanks for trying to help.

~Staci~

That's understandable that you want them to believe you. I would suggest that you find some material on the Internet, such as at www.webmd.com or in one of the threads at the ADDForums, print it out, and let your family not only read it, but tell them to prove the article wrong. Yes, its true, that ADD (the term) has been replaced with ADHD...but you DON'T HAVE TO BE HYPERACTIVE to be labeled ADHD.

Take heart, there are LOTS of non-believers in this world. That's why us ADD/ADHDers stick together :)

Hi my name is Staci and I'm 18, I recently read this article in a
magazine about ADHD and they described the symptoms and when I read
it I was like that it totally me. I always seem to day dream , im
always getting acused of being lazy, I always forget things, I get
angry very easily, I never can seem to sit still, and I really dont
know how to carry on a conversation(im just so shy), I also have
alot more of the symptoms but you get the idea. So I think I might
have ADHD, but im not sure, and when I told my mom about it she just
laughed, and then ignored the situation. I want to get checked out
but my mom wont get me checked out cause she doesnt believe I have
it, because she doesnt even really know what it is, and I dont want
to go get checked alone. Also if I make my mom go and then I dont
have it I will feel really stupid. What should I do, should I go,
and do you even think I have ADHD?Hon I'd rather be safe than sorry, I went through life with ADD without knowing myself, and I kinda regret not letting my mom take me to find out sooner, yeah you get put on drugs, but you can't get addicted to them, so go find out and I'll pray that you don't ok?, P.S. you might have to be subtle about telling her, like leaving a pamflet on the table or something. Good luck

Hon I'd rather be safe than sorry, I went through life with ADD without knowing myself, and I kinda regret not letting my mom take me to find out sooner, yeah you get put on drugs, but you can't get addicted to them, so go find out and I'll pray that you don't ok?, P.S. you might have to be subtle about telling her, like leaving a pamflet on the table or something. Good luck
Yeah, same here. I really wish I had found out when I was 18. I probably could have avoided a lot of hell I put myself through. Mom and dad didn't send me to a doc because they (and I) didn't know there was any reason for me to go to one.

You don't have to worry about what to say. Just tell him or her that you think you might have ADHD, or describe the symptoms you have that make you think you have it. If it helps, you can write them down so you don't forget or freeze up under the pressure.

For an adult, I would generally say to seek out a PhD psychologist/neuropsychologist or a psychiatrist to make the diagnosis. From reading on here, it seems like regular family doctors are sometimes skeptical of adults claiming to have ADHD. If you're still seeing a pediatrician, he or she would probably be experienced enough with adult ADDers (since little ADDers tend to have big ADDers as parents) to at least give you an idea whether it's a good idea to see a psychiatrist.

Even if you don't have ADHD, a psychiatrist and a therapist can probably help you with these issues you are having. It's clearly causing you distress, so don't feel ashamed or afraid to get help for it.

hmm, it's hard staci to get it out in the family.
My personal story has been a struggle to get my family to accept the fact. Parents find it very hard to believe and very hard to even take you to a doctor for the advice. I would say that if you are going to college and once u get into it, immediately go to the students disability resource center and tell them that you want an evaluation done up. It costs $500/- in GA. And ADD is more of a gift, always remember that!

Thanks everyone for the advise, I still don't know how to approach my mom because I'm afraid of what she might say, but I'm working on it.

Carterbabe,I have a few suggestions that might help you,as my mum was like yours,although it's pretty much what has been said already.

Firstly,get a lot of information about ADHD off the internet or get some books,and show it to your mum,go through it with her and the symptoms you have.
Go through your child hood with her and all your problems,make the appointment with the appropriate medical person,and ask your mum if she will go with you.
If she won't,what about your sister?
Also,bringing a list of all your symptoms will help you when it comes to telling the doctor,you could also write down how you want to start speaking,and read that several times before you go,also write down your history with these symptoms as you will get asked about them.
YOu do not need to say loads though,if you have no idea what to say,just get your list of symptoms out,show it to the doctor and then they should do the rest of the talking.

I completely agree with everyone here. I would definitely talk to someone who may be able to help you. If you're still in h.s., go talk to your school psychologist. They are one of the best people who can help you and your situation. Not only can they do preliminary assessments, but they can give you a wealth of information and resources to present to your parents. If you're really scared to talk to your parents, you can bring this up to the school shrink and he/she may be willing to have a meeting with you, your sis, and your parents.

I would get the diagnoses somehow. I myself went to college with undiagnosed add, and not only did my grades plummet, but my self-esteem did, too. Eventually, I got depressed because of my grades. PLEASE don't let this happen to you, hun.

I know it's hard to have really stubborn parents, but remember, in your life, YOU are #1, and your family comes in at #2. Take care of yourself, and that includes getting your add proven or discounted.

Let us know how you do and what happened. We're all here to help!

This sounds exactly like me. My mum doesn't believe I have it either, because nobody wants to think their child is not 'normal' but believe me, when you go get checked out you will feel SO much bettter. When I was diagnosed the doctor pretty much said, the only thing we can do is put you on medication and my parents are hippies so I'm not allowed that stuff. So i pretty much just have to be myself. If you don't get to take medication either, just knowing what is going on inside your brain will make your life a lot less stressful. And don't worry about being shy, your time to shine will come.

Hi, I havn't been here in a while but I once wrote about how I think I might have ADHD but my mom didn't believe me when I told her what I thought. Still to this day I havn't found away to tell her or really any one else. I guess I can say I've been going through alot more than just that becuase my mom's been having trouble with her hemroids and she needed surgery, she lost 9 pints of blood before the surgery and the doctors said she could have died so she's been in alot of pain for many months now cause she hasn't heeled and the doctor said she would probably have to go through another surgery becuause she's still bleeding. On top of all that my sister just got married, you'd think how happy right? Well not really, my family told her to wait to get married because she just met the guy and he had a son. Well as always we were right, but did she listen, no. So she got married and we went along with it, it's not like we ddin't like him we just wanted her to make sure he was the one. Well what happened was we had to take car of his son for awhile while they got settled in a place to live. See he was in army and now he got out so he had to find a job and my sister just graduated from college so now she also had a job and they didn't know where they were going to live so we took care of Landen, his son, while they got settled, even though my mom was going through all this at the same time. Now my sister and her husband fight constintly, more than usual. That wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that their fights involve hitting eachother and throwing and breaking things like dishes. They both have tempers and they both get angry very easily, so that's kinda a bad thing. The cops had to come acouple of times to break them up and there has been so many times where they both have threatened to divorce one nother, which I say go head. Once, after one of their bad fights, they both even tried committing suicide. Their seeing a coucler at a church that they go to but thatm isn't helping very much. I can't stand it, right now im not really on speaking terms with my sister because she got in a real bad fight with her husband at my parents and my hosue and so my mom and I tried to stop it but she just started yelling at us and swearing at us, evenutally my dad kicked both of them out adn they took his kid with them. My sister blamed all of that on my mom, which made me dislike her even more, but now my parents and her are speaking, but me and her are doing so good right now. So you see I havn't really had the time to get into the whole ADHD thing with them. I'm also graduating this next week so I have all that stuff on my mind right now on top of everything else, so it's hard to worry about my ADHD, so I still havn't figured out a way i'm going to tell them without them thinking I am crazy or paranoid. I was also wondering if not being able to make up my mind could possible be a symptom of ADHD, I mean i'm not sure I jsut know that I can never make a decision everyone else has to do it for me, and people, especially my mom, get's really anoid by that but I can't help. Well thanks for letting me share!

Hi my name is Staci and I'm 18, I recently read this article in a
magazine about ADHD and they described the symptoms and when I read
it I was like that it totally me. I always seem to day dream , im
always getting acused of being lazy, I always forget things, I get
angry very easily, I never can seem to sit still, and I really dont
know how to carry on a conversation(im just so shy), I also have
alot more of the symptoms but you get the idea. So I think I might
have ADHD, but im not sure, and when I told my mom about it she just
laughed, and then ignored the situation. I want to get checked out
but my mom wont get me checked out cause she doesnt believe I have
it, because she doesnt even really know what it is, and I dont want
to go get checked alone. Also if I make my mom go and then I dont
have it I will feel really stupid. What should I do, should I go,
and do you even think I have ADHD?welcome to my world xD

well I say get tested. my mom took me to get tested and I found out I had it, along with two other emotional disorders. if you do have it, you'll feel a lot better because you can do something about it.

And having your mother with you makes it easier for her to believe.