10 Things That Declared My AuDHd Before My Diagnosis

1. Staying focused in a conversation was nearly impossible. My version of “listening” usually meant concentrating so hard on trying to listen that I ended up missing everything. 

2. As a kid, I’d get irrationally upset if a treat wasn’t divided equally, even if I ended up with more. 

3. Conversations meant carefully analyzing every word while performing interest like it was a Broadway role. 

4. Forget cloud-watching, I could find faces in tiles, dirt piles, paint strokes, or a ball of yarn. 

5. Teachers praised me for spotting historical connections other kids missed… then scolded me for making “absurd” leaps. 

6. Every project started with a million thrilling ideas and 100% determination. A month later, I was still “getting ready to start”… or already onto the next obsession. 

7. Once, I grabbed a piece of cake meant for someone else. I was called impatient and rude, and those words looped in my brain with shame for a week. 

8. Somehow, I was both “social, hyper, and charismatic” and “shy, quiet, and reserved.” 

9. The infamous resting angry face. 

10. The daily compulsion to talk to myself, rehearse conversations, or act out entire fantasy scenarios whenever I was alone.