I learned something about myself today...
... and at the same time, I learned something about my long-dead mother.
Looking back on my youth, I've long suspected that I had an undiagnosed case of ADHD. I *LITERALLY* could not sit still, and frequently had severe difficulty paying attention to anything which did not *COMPLETELY* engage my interest. Indeed, I think I still have the condition, though with "learned coping mechanisms" and the condition itself reducing in severity as I aged. But this was pure speculation on my part; as far as I knew, I had never been diagnosed with the condition.
Except that I *HAD* been diagnosed; my mother just never bothered to tell me.
Apparently I was diagnosed as having ADHD when I was in Second Grade (age 7). Further, I was prescribed Ritalin for a brief period... which they rarely did for children that young back in those days. I honestly don't recall taking the medication, but I was a sickly child, prone to eye and ear infections. Since I regularly took antibiotics to deal with those infections, I would not have asked any questions when my mother gave me pills to swallow.
However, it appears that my mother stopped giving me the pills after only a week or so -- one of Ritalin's common side-effects is to suppress the appetite, and my mother got scared at how little I was eating. I was beanpole-thin throughout my youth, so I can understand why my mother stopped giving me the medication.
But my mother *NEVER* told me about this diagnosis when I grew older. She told one of my sisters about it at some point, and my sister told me about it when we met for Easter supper today.
Way to go, Mom. I already knew you didn't love me, but this *REALLY* shows how little you respected me. YOU COULDN'T EVEN SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO TELL ME ABOUT A SIGNIFICANT NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION THAT I WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING IN MY CHILDHOOD!
Now I have yet another reason to dispise the woman's memory...
Looking back on my youth, I've long suspected that I had an undiagnosed case of ADHD. I *LITERALLY* could not sit still, and frequently had severe difficulty paying attention to anything which did not *COMPLETELY* engage my interest. Indeed, I think I still have the condition, though with "learned coping mechanisms" and the condition itself reducing in severity as I aged. But this was pure speculation on my part; as far as I knew, I had never been diagnosed with the condition.
Except that I *HAD* been diagnosed; my mother just never bothered to tell me.
Apparently I was diagnosed as having ADHD when I was in Second Grade (age 7). Further, I was prescribed Ritalin for a brief period... which they rarely did for children that young back in those days. I honestly don't recall taking the medication, but I was a sickly child, prone to eye and ear infections. Since I regularly took antibiotics to deal with those infections, I would not have asked any questions when my mother gave me pills to swallow.
However, it appears that my mother stopped giving me the pills after only a week or so -- one of Ritalin's common side-effects is to suppress the appetite, and my mother got scared at how little I was eating. I was beanpole-thin throughout my youth, so I can understand why my mother stopped giving me the medication.
But my mother *NEVER* told me about this diagnosis when I grew older. She told one of my sisters about it at some point, and my sister told me about it when we met for Easter supper today.
Way to go, Mom. I already knew you didn't love me, but this *REALLY* shows how little you respected me. YOU COULDN'T EVEN SPEND FIVE MINUTES TO TELL ME ABOUT A SIGNIFICANT NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION THAT I WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING IN MY CHILDHOOD!
Now I have yet another reason to dispise the woman's memory...