Introduction

Hi. I'm new to this forum and am very excited to be here. A little bit about me. I found out I had ADHD when my oldest child was flagged in kindergarten. Ahhhh, suddenly my life made sense. Since then figured out I also have Dyslexia and Auditory Processing because I "gifted" all of these to my 2 kids. Therapy helped me identify that I really struggled with anxiety. I didn't know or even recognize that I was living with a great amount of anxiety.

Fast forward 9 years later, I am now a certified Life Coach that specializes in ADHD. In my journey, a constant was that I kept my passion for finding out more and more about ADHD. I just can't get enough of it. I now help adults and parents of children with ADHD to move forward with ADHD. To me, my diagnosis is part of me but doesn't define me. I hope to help others learn to accept ADHD, find strategies that work for them and finally find inner peace.

I'm excited to be on this board for both professional and personal reasons. It's so nice to be with a community that understands my struggles and is supportive and hopefully, I will be able to help others.

[MrsRigid]

Great to have you on board. I have questions about my ADHD medications, but first. Can I ask about your diagnosis of Dyslexia and auditory processing disorder? - Like how can they differentiate all the sorts of sounds that induce anger, anxiety, from your ADHD?

[Hidden in reply to MrsRigid]

Hi! Great questions. They all “travel” together and it can be challenging to know what is what. I distinguish them this way.

Dyslexia comes into play when I’m trying to spell or pronounce words. Dr Seuss was a nightmare for me to read to the girls.

Auditory processing affects us in different ways. 1 of us is super slow in responding. The rest of the time we mis-hear words. “I said chair, not bear.” It can be frustrating and funny at the same time. We just have to laugh.

Anxiety comes into play when we have to do something we are uncomfortable with or trying not to say no to things we don’t know exactly how it will play out.

Does that help?

[MrsRigid in reply to Hidden]

Yes, I know middle ear malfunctions can cause people to hear the wrong word. I famously do that with song lyrics and when other people are telling stories, I always interrupt and ask them if what I heard was right and it wasn't. I was just trying to imagine what it must have been like for you, growing up with that before you found your niche as as life coach.

I hardly know anyone with dyslexia, I think the people who do don't talk about it. So I was a little curious. -Thanks

[Hidden in reply to MrsRigid]

Glad I helped clarify that for you. I had ear infections as a child and so did my kids. I'm not sure how much it contributed to CAPD but it is common with those with CAPD. BTW, I am famous for knowing half the words to a song. I used to dream of being a singer but...

As for middle ear malfunctions, an Audiologist would probably be able to tell if that is your problem or is it related to a middle ear issue. The testing is pretty extensive. Both of my kids were tested. I was not, but I see myself in them...

Interestingly enough, 1 in 4 kids have some degree of dyslexia. There is a range of severity. There is a lot of shame around it. I am loud and proud now about how hard it was for me to learn to read and write but I still find myself at times fake reading a flyer flashed in front of me or pretending that I enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss to my kids. It's like it's instinct at this point. At least now, I consciously know what I'm doing and I'm totally fine with why I am choosing to do it or about coming clean about it. Just depends on how much I like the other person...Do I feel safe to be vulnerable with them, type of thing.