• sp3ctr4l@lemmy.zipEnglish
    4·
    7 months ago

    Same with autism.

    If you get low grades, off to special ed with you.

    High grades? Oh you’re just a socially awkward dork or quirky nerd or something.

    • bobs_monkey@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      7 months ago

      Truth. I remember being in school in the 90s when they were giving Ritalin to everyone who didn’t want to sit still in class. Shit was wild. And then you have me, with a healthy case of ADD but since I wasn’t a social butterfly, that just meant I wasn’t motivated.

  • radicalautonomy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    7 months ago

    Same with autism. It wasn’t until I had my master’s degree in math and teaching high school at age 39 that it ever occurred to me that I was autistic. A colleague and I had a mutual student, and he told me that he thought she might be autistic and that he was going to refer her to the school’s diagnostician for testing.

    So I found myself curious about the symptoms of autism, because Rain Man was my frame of reference. I researched the symptoms in the middle of a Geometry team meeting, and everything I read had my sitting up further and further in my seat, until I just blurted out “Oh my GAWD…?!” My colleagues asked what, and I said “Y’all…I think I might be autistic?” They looked at one another quizzically, like they were shocked at my personal revelation. One of them replied, “Wait…you didn’t know?!” I said, “…what, you DID know?!?” She was like “Yes! We all know that about you! You seriously didn’t know? 😂” HELL NO I DIDN’T KNOW!

    I immediately called my mom on the phone to tell her that I thought I might be autistic. “Yyyyyeah…your dad and I always thought you might be.” HOLY FUCKING SHIT MOM WTF??? 😲😲😲WHY DIDN’T YOU EVER GET ME TESTED?!? "Well, you always made such good grades that we just didn’t think it mattered that much.

    I have since been diagnosed with ASD Level 1, and I think back a lot on my life lived. I marvel at how much easier my life would have been if I hadn’t had to develop all of these coping mechanisms myself. I did well in school despite my autism. I earned two degrees despite my autism. I hold down teaching jobs despite my autism. The biggest problems I’ve had in my life, though, have been personal relationships. I can’t imagine how much richer my life might be right now had I known all along how to exist as a self-aware autist in a neurotypical world.

  • Womdat10@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    0·
    7 months ago

    Dude, so fucking real. I just got denied meds because “If you can learn a big part in a play, then you must have very mild adhd.”

    • DankOfAmerica@reddthat.comEnglish
      01·
      7 months ago

      I’m convinced that most psychiatrists and psychologists have control issues that they satisfy through their practice. It makes them feel powerful to be able to gatekeep, judge and implicitly control their patient’s life and get paid for it.

      • hex@programming.devEnglish
        01·
        7 months ago

        Man if I was a doctor I’d probably get my control kick by giving people what they want and making them happy.

  • vinyl@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    7 months ago

    I suspected i had adhd when i was 16, begged my mom to go to a psychologist. The psychologist told me i was playing too many video games ಠ_ಠ

  • Dr. Moose@lemmy.worldEnglish
    01·
    7 months ago

    whole life

    Even with ADHD you’re like, an full-ass adult, no? it’s weird how people never actually grow into their independance. I see many people come up in their 30-40s and discover they have ADHD - what were you doing this whole time?