Hi, I’m Evelyn but I like people to call me Evie. I can’t wait to start secondary school because I love learning and I especially like creative writing. I’m excited to meet new people and start new subjects.

In 2019 I was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD. I am currently taking medication and will begin cognitive behavioural therapy over the summer. However, it doesn’t stop my brain having trouble controlling or shifting my attention. Sometimes my brain jumps from one thing to the next very quickly and other times my brain zero’s in or on something and it can be hard to pull myself out of a hyper focus. It’s like having a billion trampolines in your head each representing a thought and your brain just jumping off each and every one, every second. Then again it can be like staying on one trampoline and never getting off!

My executive functions are not as developed as others my age so it’s difficult for me to control my thoughts or be as organised. I get distracted easily and really struggle with the concept of time. I can also get more fidgety and restless when I’m stressed or tired. People tell me that I can talk fast and it’s hard for them to understand me. It is also frustrating to me because I don’t know that I’m doing it. I’m getting better at noticing when I am talking fast, and I am trying not to be offended when asked to slow down.

I can be messy and unorganised, and this means that sometimes I can’t find things and I lose things easily. My primary school is a very small school and it’s not that hard-to-find things I have lost but I am worried that at the senior school it will be much harder to find my items if I have misplaced them.

When I start at my senior school it would be really helpful if as my teachers you understood that I lose things easily and it doesn’t mean that I don’t care about them. I’m not lazy and I do care, and I get upset and frustrated when people say I am these things because I am probably more annoyed at myself than you are!

I would like you to do know that if I am staring into space, it’s not that I am not listening to you, it’s just hard to concentrate with other distractions or background noise and I am just trying to order my thoughts because I am overwhelmed.

Sometimes I can struggle with something you might think is really simple and this can make me feel very frustrated and feel stupid. My working memory isn’t that good so you may have to tell me something more than once before it sinks in.

As my teachers I would like you to know that not everyone with ADHD shares the same symptoms. My dad and my big brother also have ADHD but their symptoms are different to mine. I want you to know that my ADHD symptoms are not excuses but explanations. I get good grades and hardly get into trouble but that doesn’t mean I’m not struggling with my symptoms.

Although there is a lot of negative stuff about ADHD, I don’t think of it as a disorder I think of it as my brain working differently to yours. I am a great problem solver and creative thinker. I am funny and kind and a great friend. I really hope to achieve my full potential at school. I suggest if you have time check out How to ADHD on YouTube because it’s really good and explains lots.