[erysichthon]

I feel I manifest some of the symptoms of ADHD, but am unsure. At any rate, if you're a college student, and struggle with this disorder, I want you to describe the experience. What are one or two instances where you're the weakest, or what's the most profound struggles you have? I have the hardest time reading books for school, even ones I like; and I used to love reading. College has made me indifferent to it.

[EJ711]

Hi Ery,

I do not have ADHD, but am an instructor in college. I had two students last semester with ADHD.

One of the students said he had to read things about four times to really get them.

My other student impressed me as an A student, but she couldn't quite pull off an A. I think it was the distraction issue.

Both of these students were disruptive in class.

EJ

[erysichthon]

I'm just curious: how did they disrupt class?

Distraction is murder in college.

[EJ711]

Ery,

The male student with ADHD typically shouted out comments during class. I learned as the semester progressed his father was dying at home. My heart went out to him.

The female student talked to the lady next to her a LOT of the time, and proceeded to take the take-home test during class instead of focusing on the lecture.

EJ

[breezer]

Unless I'm interested in the subject matter, I have to read over the material several times before I can have any hope of retaining it.

On the flipside, if it is a subject I am really into and want to gain insight about I cannot seem to get enough info and it "sticks" much more readily.

If you find yourself very easily distracted, constantly daydreaming or catching yourself "spacing" during lectures, If you have a tendency to "overdoodle" in the margins of your notetaking notebook while you should be writing down pertinent information, if you're gazing more out the windows at the landscape than you are paying attention to your professor, etc. etc.---

You may want to consider seeking out some evaluation and testing for ADD/ADHD.

If you have piles of "stuff" everywhere in no particular order yet you know where everything is...

These are just a few instances from my personal experience. If distraction and the inability to concentrate are hindering your studies than perhaps it's time to seek out a solution so you can excel. Seems you've already begun your search by coming here and asking questions.

Good Luck-

& Peace to You.

-Breezer

[opiebopie]

I am a full time college student at age 34. I am taking 15 credits. My first time through college took me 4 1/2 years for a 2 year degree. I was always nervous and forgetful. I didn't know I had ADD. So now I am paying attention to what bothers me. here is what I have noticed:
1- Other students who make noise by talking and digging around in their stuff or coming in late
2- I am unable to recall information quick enough to write down during quiz/exams.
3- I have a hard time expressing what I want to say
4- I am also guilty of impulsive responses in class
5- I rub people the wrong way, that is one way I can describe that i am being perceived incorrectly. One professor said I was "a know it all" If I knew it all why would I be in college? Needless to say i am dropping that class, primarily because I just found out it isn't required for my degree.
I hope you find something useful in this. Adrienne

[Innamorata]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
breezer said:
Unless I'm interested in the subject matter, I have to read over the material several times before I can have any hope of retaining it.

On the flipside, if it is a subject I am really into and want to gain insight about I cannot seem to get enough info and it "sticks" much more readily.

If you find yourself very easily distracted, constantly daydreaming or catching yourself "spacing" during lectures, If you have a tendency to "overdoodle" in the margins of your notetaking notebook while you should be writing down pertinent information, if you're gazing more out the windows at the landscape than you are paying attention to your professor, etc. etc.---

You may want to consider seeking out some evaluation and testing for ADD/ADHD.

If you have piles of "stuff" everywhere in no particular order yet you know where everything is...

These are just a few instances from my personal experience. If distraction and the inability to concentrate are hindering your studies than perhaps it's time to seek out a solution so you can excel. Seems you've already begun your search by coming here and asking questions.

Good Luck-

& Peace to You.

-Breezer

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

I do some of those.

[Meta]

I had great difficulty in high school and college getting myself to sit down to read or study. My roommates in college would all be sitting and studying at their desks and I would be wandering around our apartment restlessly. And once I did sit down it was difficult to maintain the focus and let things sink in. Almost always a lot of background noise in my head. I had great difficulty with term papers and essay exams. I tried to take course with multiple choice exams which I always did well at.
Some classes would have exams with both multiple choice and essays. I would usually ace the multiple choice and often barely get by on the essay. Organizing and going step by step to do these things was hard. The comment above about having piles of things everywhere but still knowing where to find everything applies to me also.

[boomslang]

Sometimes it can be very difficult to discern ADHD from pure boredom. It can also be caused by lack of sleep.

I have Bipolar I, Tourette's Syndrome, and ADHD and I can tell you a few things that you may or may not find happening to you:

Here are a few of the signs of ADHD in my eyes:

1. While listening to a teacher or even a friend, whether the subject is interesting or not, though more prevalent when the topic sucks, you will catch yourself staring at their direction and find that a few minutes has passed since your thought had anything to do with their interaction. You will be lost and it is very difficult to deal with in a big lecture class because the professor usually only goes over the subject once.

2. This happens when reading books too, interesting or not interesting... and often

3. You feel VERY mentally exhausted after a few hours of lecture, even if you have gotten enough rest. This is because you have to use much or your mental energy to filter out (through your frontal lobes) irrelevant information, such as the person behind you whispering. Most people do not have to use as much of their mental energy directed towards filtering out that irrelevant information, b/c their frontal lobes work properly and filter it out much more easily. In people with ADD/ADHD their frontal lobes do not work properly and their brain actually has to process everything that is going on around them instead of filtering out the uneeded info. So...a large amount of your brain's power is directed to your frontal lobes, when it should be directed to the short-term/long-term memory and processing in the other parts of your brain.

4. You have a hard time remembering things, for example, the names of people you meet. This is because in order for something to be stored in your long term memory it must be kept in short-term memory for approx. 2 minutes. ADD/ADHD people will have all of that information coming through their frontal lobes processed through their brain so you may hear their name when they introduce themselves but immediately after the name passes through your frontal lobe, it is just as relevant as the statue in the background behind them and is desmissed.

5. People tell you that what they say goes into one of your ears and out the other.....constantly, and you have no control over it.

6. a lot more I just can't think of them right now

Hope this helps. Once again it is difficult to determine this and a Speech / Language Pathologist can diagnose you and can explain how the frontal lobes in a ADD/ADHD person differ from a normal person.

[jbug]

I am 35 and a college student. I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until last semester. I take meds for it but they aren't working. The things I notice are when people are coming and going during class I have a hard time staying focused. Like today in my business communications class we were doing our speeches and I was trying to listen to the speaker and we had people coming and going and I had a really hard time listening. Also when there are things going on out in the hall I get distracted very easily.
I am not reading as much for fun lately because I can't do it.
I talk out loud in class I just blurt out what my response is to what the instructor is saying. Sometimes its accepted but not always.
I am meeting with the nurse practioner next week to see if we can change my meds to help with these problems. I want to do well this semester and can see it going downhill very quickly.

Jbug