Adults with ADD graduating from college before being diagnosed ?

[bigbowlindude]

I was thinking back at my college years. Wondering how much better I could have done. I was just curious how you guys did it. I am pretty good at math and I had a unbelievable tough time trying to pass calculus. Never could I pay attention... I was surprised I made it that far. Did any of you have any tricks that helped?

[GaiaLove]

I'm still a college student, and I've noticed that after having left for about a year due to medical leave (emotional, psychological problems), I was not the same and had also changed directions.

I'm not diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, but I am learning about this more and more as I'm interested in being an educator in that field.

As far as my own experience, I've found that after some medications and after losing touch with college and that life, I had a harder time. My GPA has dropped considerably (still above 3.0 but not as high as I'd like) from where it was and I'm having an increasingly difficult time with tests especially.

I think it's important to realize that much of what college is about is learning to think in a certain way that the professors want you to think. For instance, the process for gaining admission to college of taking SATs, etc. gives favoritism to people who think a certain way, people who think the way the people giving the test think.

Many people today in the fields of education and psychology as well as elsewhere believe that the way the 'system' is set up with so much testing and regurgitation is unfair not only in that it puts the students at a disadvantage but that it limits the kinds of people who wind up succeeding in our society.

[krisp]

I graduated long before I found out about the ADD, and I'm sure it would have made a big difference in my college years if I'd known what was going on. I alternated between brilliance and denseness, depending on the class, and I had no idea what was going on. I graduated, but my self-esteem really took a beating. Later on (still before dx), I took some more classes, and did much better at staying on track. But that time in my life was different. Taking classes was a treat by then, and I was taking classes I had a strong interest in.

Famous last words ... "If I'd only known then what I know now!" If I take classes again (which I'd like to do), I expect the experience to be an entirely different one.

[Stranger]

I graduated before I found out, and if I'd known it would have helped, because I would not have tried certain classes that were just more than I could handle. I would have known what I could do, and not wasted time and money on things that were not suited for me.

[electro]

Originally Posted by Stranger

... I would not have tried certain classes that were just more than I could handle

I think college would not have been such a challege if :

* A liberal arts education did not work for me - I would have done better in a focused trade school environment ( computer programmer ). Having to take all those courses that did not relate to the major made me very angry.
* I needed A LOT of counseling and guidance that we not there. I was uncapable of self directing myself - this is not unusual for student 18-20 years old - but I think add people can get much more trapped.


Therefore :
* Maybe people with add ( hyperfocusers ) need a more targeted education so that they can become good a skill that has value and can generate an income.

[smooch]

I also finished my undergrad long before my Dx. I'm in grad school now, on meds, and while grad school is an entirely different cup of tea in terms of the quality of work you're expected to produce (can't just put perdy smelling *stuff* out there anymore), I still think I would have handled things differently "if only I had known...." For example, I probably would have stuck with psychology as a major, despite the wank that taught my first psych course and the wank's poor choice of textbooks (looking back, that book's an ADDer's NIGHTMARE!!!). I also believe I would have had fewer personal emotional/psych issues. I mean, I did really well in undergrad...graduated cume laude, even after quitting in the middle of student teaching and finishing a year later. And I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I'm proud of my degree. However, like so many others here, I had my "breeze" classes and my "stormy" classes....

[Essy]

This is an interesting thread. I wasn't able to finish college myself and now I see it as mostly due to ADD...couldn't focus, hard time finishing assignments, took on too much at one time etc.

[pinkie]

I "found" ADD this summer, 2 semesters before graduation. Haven't been diagnosed yet, but I'm pretty sure I have it. Now I'm on my last semester of college. Probably going to get tested soon. Too bad I didn't discover it earlier, my GPA would probably be a good bit higher.

[Elisha201]

Originally Posted by electro

I think college would not have been such a challege if :

* Having to take all those courses that did not relate to the major made me very angry.

* Maybe people with add ( hyperfocusers ) need a more targeted education so that they can become good a skill that has value and can generate an income.

I actually went to a total of 4 colleges with 5 different majors. I love learning and even wanted to go to summer school as a kid just to learn more. However, when I got to college, I would lose interest half way through the semester. If there was a paper that was longer than 3 pages I usually just stopped going to the class.

After working crappy jobs and finding out the Peace Corps required a college degree and not realizing that I probably qualified for their "life experience" I thought about college again. Luckily I had a friend who saw my art work and really pushed me to at least apply to an art school. I realized it was either art school or nothing. If I couldn't get a degree in something I loved that much then college was not for me. (What a joke.)

I would also get really annoyed if I had to take a class that was not part of my major when I went to other schools. Luckily in art school almost everything is geared toward art.

I struggled so much with school, partly because of my issues and partly because of the stress put on me by the administration every semester. They ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. I had to fix all their mistakes. That left me very little energy for class and my assignments.

I did end up graduating with help from counselors. If I had to do it over again I would have taken my time. I would have taken summers off and possibly only gone half time.

If I can convince my doctor that the ritalin he gave me is helping me with ADD instead of being a stimulant like he prescribed it for, hopefully I can get full treatment and go back for my master's. I'm actually really excited to see how well I do when my brain is functioning properly.

[Bezuidenthustra]

Originally Posted by Elisha201

I actually went to a total of 4 colleges with 5 different majors. I love learning and even wanted to go to summer school as a kid just to learn more. However, when I got to college, I would lose interest half way through the semester. If there was a paper that was longer than 3 pages I usually just stopped going to the class.

After working crappy jobs and finding out the Peace Corps required a college degree and not realizing that I probably qualified for their "life experience" I thought about college again. Luckily I had a friend who saw my art work and really pushed me to at least apply to an art school. I realized it was either art school or nothing. If I couldn't get a degree in something I loved that much then college was not for me. (What a joke.)

I would also get really annoyed if I had to take a class that was not part of my major when I went to other schools. Luckily in art school almost everything is geared toward art.

I struggled so much with school, partly because of my issues and partly because of the stress put on me by the administration every semester. They ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. I had to fix all their mistakes. That left me very little energy for class and my assignments.

I did end up graduating with help from counselors. If I had to do it over again I would have taken my time. I would have taken summers off and possibly only gone half time.

If I can convince my doctor that the ritalin he gave me is helping me with ADD instead of being a stimulant like he prescribed it for, hopefully I can get full treatment and go back for my master's. I'm actually really excited to see how well I do when my brain is functioning properly.

It is pretty awesome, isn't it?

The administration point is important. I don't think NTs understood just how much "handling my business" sapped my energy and time.

For example, keeping ten things on an admin checklist organized and getting through them took my ex maybe half a day (a full day if she didn't have a car and she absolutely had to take a bus everywhere). That includes the fact that she was organized enough to remember which ten things had to get done that day.

For me, just writing the checklist is a crapshoot, since I often forget due dates and things to be done. But let's just say I managed to make that 10-item checklist. Keeping it organized and getting through it would take me days, more likely a week or more. By the time you get to the fourth or fifth day, you start forgetting what some of the items on the list mean, or you're so far beyond the deadline that you're too embarrassed or afraid to show up and complete it. There were so many things that just never got done because I forgot and remembered too late. Of course, that conditions you to avoid those types of tasks altogether, particularly if you have to go to the same administration office where you know they're going to harass you for the last screw-up. I'm not saying this is the right way to deal with things, but before I was medicated, this is what happened.

In fact, I still don't trust myself to remember, organize, and finish all my administrative-type tasks, but it's definitely much better with Ritalin. And technology, to be honest. Free online apps and my smartphone are both life-savers.

[oblivio]

I wonder a lot about getting through college having no clue about my ADD. I hated doing homework and procrastinated like nobody's business. I typically learned each of my classes in "one easy lesson" involving an all-nighter and rolling into the final with a 2L bottle of Mountain Dew under one arm. It's a frickin' miracle I slid by.

One reason I think I made it is because I wasn't really involved in any relationships of any kind. It wasn't until I tried to juggle job and/or school with wife and kids that the wheels came off my wagon. That juggling act remains a challenge to me every day.

[KennyD]

I am currently a Junior and after being diagnosed (2 years ago) and through taking adderall I currently hold a 3.75 GPA cumm. GPA. Now prior to this I was a high school student with barely a 2.0 and failed out my first 2 years of college. Now I'm not trying to be an advocate for medication but clearly there is a correlation between treatment/diagnosis and outcome of effectiveness. What was most frustrating was that my parents/peers blame my failures on "partying it up" and being distracted with and the extracurriculars that went with college. This is farther from the truth (while I did go out) I was actually more socially closed during that time. I wish I had started schooling with the knowledge about ADD that I have now because it would have saved me a ton of issues with depression and not to mention money....

[sidekick]

Urgh, yes. I mentioned this to my doc yesterday. It's pretty sad to think about how much better I would have done in undergrad, and even high school, had I known about this. I'm in grad school now, and with the meds, suddenly it seems possible to do this. You just have to put it behind you and make the best of things starting now.

[jamcracker]

i'm in the same boat as smooch and sidekick in terms of "how things could have been different."

but I've got a bit of a different spin; i'm just finishing my undergrad now. ADD blocked me from properly finishing because for the life of me I could not settle down and write a cohesive essay (my thoughts were all over the place/impossible to focus long enough to do the required research and turn it into an essay.)

so I had to bite the bullet and admit to myself that I had a serious problem. Then after 8hrs of testing at the psych office I was formally diagnosed (of course they also used old report cards,etc.)

anyway I am now on concerta and i've never felt more confident; i'm no longer dropping courses before the midway point and I am on course to graduate before the end of this year.

sweet! ADD was a road block for me - i could not finish my liberal courses without intervention...kudos to everyone who made it through without intervention, that's an incredible achievement.

EDIT: AHH! i knew I wanted to make a point (my ADD took me off track,) my point is I've been lucky to experience undergraduate WITH and WITHOUT being diagnosed...being diagnosed adds such a "safety net" to the whole equation because of the resources your school can provide with a formal diagnosis...but so far the meds have really assisted, I haven't had to use many of the other resources available to me.