Living in the 90’s can be difficult, especially if you have A.D.D. As a teenager with it, my life has been even tougher than average. I know what it is like to try to cope with the "disease."

People have a misinformed opinion of kids with A.D.D., medicated or not. We have been dubbed as lazy, unmotivated, or my personal worst: "doesn’t work up to her potential." They don’t seem to realize that we try as hard as we can, and despite it all, it is too hard to stay organized and remember to do homework, or pay attention. Despite all the bad press about Ritalin, I decided to try it when I was diagnosed last summer.

As a freshman, I knew that going into the high school would be hard, and my grades had been slipping as it was. Anything had to help. I never did my homework, paid attention or took notes. (Unless of course the notes started with "Dear Jena" and ended with one of my friends’ names...)

Now, I am actually on Honor Roll again, something I haven’t done since school started to become boring to me. I feel that anyone with A.D.D. should at least give medication a try if they can. It has done me a world of good.
by Jena Marie

I wrote this as a freshman in high school. I am now a freshman in college at Quinnipiac in Hamden, Connecticut. My life has changed so much since then- it went downhill, then uphill and now seems to have leveled off a bit. The college transition hasn't been easy, but it's doable. And I still think this is semi-decent writing!
Any fellow ADD'ers out there, I'd like to chat, and maybe exchange ideas or solutions!