Hello,
I am 59 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD, inattentive type, in 2020 after years and years of frustration, self-doubt, and tanking self-confidence. I also have several other mental health and educational diagnoses: co-dependency, major episodic depression, reading disorder, short-term memory loss, and learning disability. These are in addition to congenital hearing loss and, now, tinnitus. I am socially awkward, self-isolating, and an introvert. I am also an artist, a special education teacher (currently on an extended preliminary credential), a mom and grandmother, and have earned my BA and hold a multiple subject teaching credential. It took me 18 years to get my BA (with a nine year "break" until I could find a way to go back, so nine years actively studying). Now I am on my third try to get my special education credential (where my passion is) and recently applied for a second extension. The ADHD tax here is astronomical!
I am the youngest of a very dysfunctional nuclear family and survived domestic abuse from a previous marriage and now live on my own. I endured bullying throughout my primary and secondary school years and am the only one in my immediate family to go on to college and earn a degree. After my oldest brother (the only family member I felt close to) passed away 22 years ago, I became the one my mother, other brother, and my two children (even into adulthood) depended on. Now that I am finally living on my own without other family members requesting my services (transportation and money, mostly) that I had difficulty refusing before (thanks to co-dependency), I can finally see clearly how ADHD impacted my life from a very early age.
In terms of my ADHD, I have spent the last four years researching what it is, what I can do for myself, and learning what having it is like for others. The therapist I had for co-dependency was not knowledgeable about ADHD. Thus, I started my quest for a therapist that did. I have been with my current therapist a few months now and am beginning to make some progress. I am on three medications but recently realized that the dosage I was taking for Adderall was minimal and no longer effective, so the dosage was increased.
I am glad to find this community of folk sharing this still often misunderstood and disbelieved hidden disability. I am hoping to also find other teachers that have ADHD and learn how you manage lesson planning and working with other teachers. I am trying not to feel scared about my future. I don't know if I am going to get the second preliminary credential extension. I absolutely love my job, have three wonderful aides to work with, and have developed a rapport with my students and many of their parents. The school staff are more supportive than I had experienced in other schools I have been employed. I have a medical team to help me with navigating my ADHD and have begun to prioritize my teacher duties. My hope is that the need for special education teachers due to state shortage will work in my favor and that my passion for teaching children on the spectrum will evident in my letter, as part of my application by appeal, to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Thank you for taking the time to read my long-winded intro 😊