How It Feels To Have ADHD In My Daughter’s Own Words

My 8 year-old daughter watches me write often. She requested to write a post about how it feels to have ADHD. The following is written in her own words (with some spelling and grammatical assistance) on behalf of parents and children who live with ADHD. She also provided some strategies she uses to help her.

HOW ADHD MAKES ME FEEL

Hi. My name is Brielle. l am eight years old, and l am about to tell you how it feels to have ADHD.

I started to realize I had some difficulty in school when I was in Kindergarten.  l had a really hard time understanding number bonds and how they worked. I was confused and couldn’t do schoolwork on my own. The other kids during learning center would sit at the desks and do their work, but I couldn’t do it.  I had a hard time understanding new things because of trouble paying attention. I would think about other things. The teachers thought I didn’t know anything. I would go home, and my mommy would explain things to me a few times before I understood it. I was able to learn number bonds because my mommy taught it to me. She was able to teach it to me in a way that made sense to me. 

My mommy now homeschools me. When my mom is teaching me l still have trouble focusing. l am still thinking about many things all at once. A lot of times I rush through my school work and I don’t want to double check to make sure I did it correctly.  I just want to finish everything quickly.

Having ADHD makes me feel like there is constant noise going on in my head.

The next day l don’t remember the things l just learned the day before.  My mommy has to review what I already learned.  ln kindergarten everyone else would do their work when the teachers told us to do our workbooks. l had no idea what to do. l felt confused all the time. l like my mom as a teacher because she explains things to me well and helps me to understand.

I AM HYPER ALL THE TIME AND MY MIND IS ALWAYS ACTIVE

When l am hyper I’m often rough with my cats and my dog. l will sometimes jump on the couch and on people. I run around and get hurt. I have a hard time stopping myself. My body is always full of energy.

l never get tired.  l could get three hours of sleep, and l would not be tired. I get sick often because I don’t get enough sleep. 

At night I think about a lot of things, so I have trouble falling asleep. I leave my room many times to go into the hallway. Sometimes I have to go to the bathroom, but other times I feel like I have to go but I really don’t. It’s hard for me to get comfortable.

It can take 1-2 hours for me to fall asleep once my mommy leaves my room. When I wake up in the middle of the night l stay up and go to the bathroom every few minutes or l go play with my cats. No matter what time I fall asleep I will wake up the same time each morning. l think l do that because it is so hard for me to sleep and I’m bored.

Sometimes my brain tells me to lie and to do the wrong thing like climb on countertops and sneak downstairs during the night.

my mommy tries to help me to stop and think before doing something, but I always act first.

I understand that doing some of those things can get me into trouble. I’ve gotten hurt a lot because I always run around, and I fall many times.  I still do it anyway because my body acts before I am able to think and stop myself.

TECHNIQUES THAT I USE TO HELP MANAGE MY ADHD

I try to tell myself, “l am going to fall asleep.” Many times that doesn’t work for me because I’m not tired. That is what having ADHD feels like. It can make sleeping very hard sometimes. l wear an eye mask, and l try to imagine things that make me happy when I’m lying down. That is helpful sometimes. Maybe it can help you.

You will have ADHD forever and you cannot change that, but what you can change is what you are doing now.

Putting my feet on the wall and listening to yoga music relaxes me. You can do that along with your kids if they are hyper. My mom does that with me and it helps. If you have a child with ADHD, this is helpful to calm down and focus. My mommy calls it a legs up the wall pose.

Sometimes when I am hyper, I go into my playroom and push on the wall for 20 seconds. I also run laps pretending that there is a wolf chasing me.

During school when I am having trouble focusing, my mommy gets my attention and says, “1-2-3, eyes on me.” She also tells me to put on my listening ears and my looking eyes. That gets me to pay attention, and then I am able to listen to her explaining things to me. She will give me breaks when I need them, and she sings songs about what I’m learning to help me remember things.

My mommy also gives me reminders to always double check my work before handing it in. When my body tries to tell me to do something I shouldn’t do or I try to rush through my work, I tell myself and my mommy tells me that ADHD isn’t the boss, I am! 

I have two favorite breathing exercises to help me calm down. One is where I start by squeezing my feet and let it go, then my legs, then my tummy, chest, arms, and face. At the end I squeeze my entire body at the same time. The second exercise is what my mommy calls 4-7-8 breathing. You take a deep breath in and count in your head for four seconds, then hold your breath for seven seconds, then let out the air for eight seconds. You can do this as many times as it takes before you feel relaxed.

There is an area of my room that my mommy calls my calming corner. I go into my room and squeeze some of my toys to help me calm down. Sometimes I jump up and down, which gets some of my energy out. I also have a bean bag chair that I throw myself onto. My parents put or roll heavy things on me (my weighted blanket or an exercise ball) to help calm my body down. That helps me to relax because I like the pressure on my body. They also sometimes give me big squeezes to help me calm down.

Since I have a lot of energy, I like to go outside a lot. When my parents take me outside, I run around and I go on my scooter and swing. This helps me because I like fast rides, and it relaxes me a little bit. 

NO MATTER HOW ADHD MAKES YOU FEEL, KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE

For other kids that have ADHD, you are not the only one. There are many other children who have it and have to deal with it like I do. I understand what goes on and how it makes you feel, but it’s just something you have. It’s not who you are. 

So read this post and tell your kids to read this. I want them to know that they are not the only ones who have ADHD. I have ADHD and I understand. They are not alone. This is what it feels like to have ADHD. I hope this will help parents understand what their children have to go through every day.

Thank you for reading my post!  My mom writes to try to help people. Please share my post so that I can help many people.  If you or your kids have any comments or questions then leave a comment or send an email. Don’t forget to subscribe to my mommy’s blog!