If you want to get into the mind of the ADHD child, picture being very restless and bored most of the time. You will have the quest for knowledge and want to learn, but there are so many things to do as well. It is very difficult for you to sit still while a teacher is talking. Concentration on anything for a long period of time is very hard and you pay little attention to detail. You tend to rush through your projects and are on to the next thing before other children have finished the first project. You feel as though you are always one step ahead, but in reality, you tend to fall behind because you find yourself daydreaming in class and your work is often sloppy or appears rushed.
If you are the attention defecit disorder child, people are always telling you to slow down and be more attentive to your work. You may get bad grades on tests and homework because of sloppiness or errors that could easily have been spotted and corrected had you taken your time. You may feel the urge to run around or get up and shake off your legs while the other children are sitting still. You may often fidget to give your hands something to do when you are trying to pay attention to what is going on in the class around you.
In the mind of the ADHD child, confusion is often dominant and conflicts the thought process. It can be very difficult to perform two activities at once, you may feel overwhelmed at times when there are many projects ahead of you. You may even skip around tests and answer questions out of order. You are the type of child that has to know the ending of the book before you begin reading.
Because the ADHD child can be, what used to be termed “fidgety,” they were often labeled as troublemakers or those who just could not pay attention. At one time, before the diagnosis of ADHD or ADD was common, teachers had no idea what to make of such a child and would often scold them time and again about their behavior. If you are the ADHD child, you know what it is like to be scolded by the teacher. You may also know it feels to always seem as though you are on the outside looking in.
You may be able to think of 50 things to do with a paper cup off of the top of your head, but have difficulty concentrating in simple math. Or, you may be able to take a television set apart and put it together but not be able to complete your English homework. If you are the ADHD child, you often leave unfinished projects in your wake.
