How in the hell did nobody notice I had ADHD until I was 18?

[Assumption]

Originally Posted by Geno

And I can kind of see why the first psychologist would rule out ADHD in that situation, but there's always exceptions to every general rule. It'd just be much more excruciating to a person with it, and college is excruciating enough to smart people without ADHD.

Problem is, I had already dropped out of college once in the past, had changed degrees/majors 3 times, and had basically spent twice the amount of time normal to get to where I was - with extremely inconsistent grades. I went from compsci (failed maths that year due solely to doing no work, and then failed everything the next year for the same reason, apart from philosophy which I got an A in) to carpentry at a polytech (My tutor really disliked me because I was far smarter than most or all of the other students, yet put in very little effort and consistently turned up late) to philosophy, and finally to pschology. In the last 2 I did a bit better, but still found it very difficult to stay motivated/organized. And I was telling her to her face that I didn't feel I was coping (you can be "not coping" in a PhD program for years before finally calling it quits. You don't get "fired" easily, and there aren't yearly tests or anything).

It's not that I think she was wrong to think "hmm, he's a PhD student, that's unusual for someone with ADHD," but for her to use that fact alone to completely rule it out, without even asking any questions or testing me in any way, was incredibly unprofessional. And I'm seriously ****** off. That was almost a couple of years ago now. I've made very little progress on my PhD since then, and now AM getting warnings from my supervisor that I basically need to shape up or ship out.

It's illogical to think "most people with ADHD drop out" and then infer from that that if you haven't dropped out, you don't have ADHD.

[Kasi]

Ditto, however I was twenty, not eighteen and when I was diagnosed, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry since it was such a relief to know what was wrong and that something could help, but on the other hand, for ****'s sake, how did no one ever figure it out before? I literally walked out after my assessment with a scrip for Wellbutrin and a psychologist muttering about me being one of the most obvious cases she'd seen for ADHD-C.
However, I can see how some of my symptoms might have been masked by depression, or been considered as a result of the fact I was deaf. Especially since once I was put on meds for depression, my hyper tendencies came back full force.

[Geno]

Originally Posted by Only one

Oh woww kinda just like me man. The problem is, I found out when I was 19 turned 20 weeks ago but I have bad luck that I can't see a doctor (no insurance )...everything fits me and it makes life definitely harder. Nobody really believes me I don't know why after I just broke everything down. I don't have any support, I don't know when I'm gonna get help. Gahh and I'm 20 yrs old dude

If you have a job, set aside some money every paycheck until you can afford it. If you don't have a job, get one :P