Teen Child ADHD

[Pasteles2]

Good Morning: My 17 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with ADHD. While I am relieved we got the diagnosis before she begins college, still a lot to digest.

[anirush]

Will she cooperate with treatment? I have a teen on meds but he was diagnosed years ago. He also sees a counselor. Sometimes starting at a community college is better than going away to school with all of the pressure that involves.

[RedRoo]

Snap. My daughter is 16 diagnosed in Feb 2024. I'm really worried about her future and more immediate GCSE's. .. sch weren't any help with getting her help as of course she has learnt to mask alot of her symptoms.. difficult to know where to start!.

[funpuzzles]

Key thing will be to get accommodations at school/college. As school gets harder, the ADHD often has a bigger impact. An executive function coach can be helpful too. All the best!

[Mamamichl]

this is a good place to tell everyone to go to the college’s disability center and ask for accommodations. If you have a k12 iep or 504, it makes the transition easier, but it’s not necessary. I never knew to go there.

[JennyWTL]

Yes! Have her share her diagnosis with her current school and college disabilities center. I will be speaking on this topic May 3rd with Elizabeth Hamblet from LD Advisory if you want to join! She will share all the info on her socials!

[Efsrdad]

Hi Pasteles2.

My daughter also battled the challenges of ADHD and executive function disorder during high school. Trying to help her succeed ended in many heated arguments and frustration. In her junior year I hired her an executive function coach who helped her get her academics in order. This year she was accepted into the college of her choice. I wrote an article about our journey. I attached a link if you would like to read it. Good Luck!!

medium.com/neurodivergent-l...

[Peerandparent]

As you and your daughter learn about her ADHD, hopefully it's a time of healing. There are likely many things she's experienced over the years and chalked up to a weak will, laziness or a character flaw, and now she'll know that they're symptoms of a disorder.

That doesn't mean she can now ignore those things and throw her hands up and say "I have ADHD so I don't need to do this". What it DOES mean is that rather than continuing to"try harder" doing things in a way her brain is not designed to do them, she can look for workarounds, habits and strategies that acknowledge her challenges and make use of her strengths. Oh, and treatment. Treatment makes it much easier to take those other steps.

The more she learns, the more empowered she'll be and the better equipped she'll be to face life after high school.

I always recommend the YouTube channel "how to ADHD". Good practical tips and insights from someone who is authentic and doesn't pretend to have it all figured out.

[insideoutbutterfly]

Hello our daughter recently started working with an executive function coach with Winston which has a program just for college students. She is having a great experience with her tutor who meets with her twice a week and reviews all homework before it’s submitted and sets a calendar up on Sunday’s with everything that must be worked on or submitted the following week. I wish we would had this set up when she started college it would have helped reduce the anxiety and depression.