#and it's not just that nobody noticed because you weren't a hyperactive 6 year old boy

[somecunttookmyurl]

Hope this is okay to ask, don't feel pressure to answer if you don't have the spoons

I'm currently seeking an ADHD diagnosis as an adult, and took the Wender Utah rating scale from my GP. For the ADHD associated questions I scored 77/100 and it's felt like a slap in the face after having so many people say I don't have ADHD.

I've been wondering how it could be possible to have such a high correlation of ADHD symptoms and not have it picked up until my late 20's, is masking something that can happen subconsciously with ADHD? If so do you have any advice or tips for noticing when I am masking?

I will be continuing with therapy (wait times are vile!) And want to try medication once I'm diagnosed, but any advice in the mean time would be incredible.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, really hope you are well

i wasn't diagnosed until i was 28.

it's really common for it to go unnoticed in childhood (when you have the structure of school and most of your needs met by family) if you still get all your schoolwork done on time - albeit at the last minute. you're just "very intelligent if you tried harder" and "a bit weird" and "a daydreamer" and "lazy"

and then in your late teens/early 20s you don't have your days planned out for you by other people anymore and nobody is cooking your meals or reminding you to do laundry and you realise you have fuck all social skills and your life falls apart and you get diagnosed with anxiety. or depression. or borderline personality disorder.

but not adhd because only kids get that and if you were struggling as a child someone would have noticed, right?

....right?

and when it goes undiagnosed for so long and there's just a vague nebulous feeling something is Wrong With You you do start to mask. a lot of people develop anxiety to cover up adhd*. you're always late because you lose track of time so now you're obsessively early to everything, for example. becoming really quiet and afraid to talk because you don't know when to STOP talking if you start. etc etc

lying or inventing plausible excuses for why you didn't do x or forgot y because "i don't know" is not an acceptable answer even though you REALLY don't know.

idk how to tell you how to pick up on it. you just sort of.. do, i guess? after a while?

*i didn't i'm just late to stuff fuck all y'all