Diagnoses at 16.

Hi everyone and welcome back to Neureco! Today’s post is about the diagnoses I received aged 16.

When I was 16, I received my diagnoses of ADHD, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia.

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) affects the way people behave for example they may struggle with concentration or could be able to concentrate for long amounts of time, some people may display hyperactive behaviours and some may not and some people may have impulses which cause them to behave in a certain way, or not. There are many stereotypes regarding ADHD. Most people may picture a disruptive child in a classroom throwing chairs across the room. Whilst this is an example of behaviour which could be displayed by someone with ADHD, it is only one example and is not necessarily the case for everyone who has ADHD.

My ADHD was possibly picked up when I was around 2 or 3 years old. I would often run away from people, for example my mum once had to chase me down a horse racing course 😂! Because of this, I was kept on reins for a while to stop me from running off. To this day I struggle to sit still, I often fidget in my chair or my leg may jiggle. I had to wait a while before I was able to get a QB test. I was told this test was designed to be boring so my behaviours could be monitored. I had to wear a headband with wires attached so my movements could be tracked, it looked like something from a Sci-Fi film or TV show. I was given a clicker and I had to click it in time with a pattern on the screen. A professional was with me the whole time to observe my behaviours.

When we got the test results back, it turned out that I have severe ADHD. Although my impulse scores came out as average, my attention and hyperactivity scores came out on the 99% percentile and the 98% percentile meaning only 1% and 2% of the country experience more severe problems with attention and hyperactivity that I do. It came as quite a surprise that my ADHD was this severe to all of us. This meant that because of the fact I struggled to concentrate for periods of time and I was often off in my own world and easily distracted, I have been medicated so when I do work or driving I will be able to concentrate.

Dyslexia is quite common and those with dyslexia struggle with reading, writing and spelling. It is viewed as a specific learning difficulty. People with dyslexia may struggle with reading at speed, they may skip lines or read the same thing twice, they can get letters and numbers mixed up and struggle with spelling and handwriting.

Growing up and being in school, I met many people who were dyslexic and gained a rough idea of what it was all about. It was actually first pointed out to me that I could be dyslexic during a GCSE maths lesson at school when I put down 12 as the answer to a question and the maths teacher told me the correct and swear was 21, he asked if I had dyslexia.

This was the first time someone had suggested this and it came as quite a surprise because from what I had seen of my friends who were dyslexic, I didn’t think I was dyslexic. I’m quite a keen reader and I don’t have too many problems with spelling. Although I have issues with my handwriting, I put this down to autism and sensory processing disorder.

We decided to get an assessment. My mum thought that with my other difficulties, it would be best to get an educational psychologist to assess me rather than a dyslexia tutor. I was about two days into year 12 when I went for my assessment. I was told at the end of the assessment that if I was dyslexic, it would be mild. The results came back fairly quickly and I found out that I have mild dyslexia, which was quite a surprise to me. I still don’t quite fully understand my dyslexia but hopefully as time goes on, I will build up an understanding.

Dyspraxia, or developmental co-ordination disorder, is another neurodivergent condition which affects balance, co-ordination and movement. However, it’s not just about the physical aspects. Dyspraxia can affect your organisational skills and ability to learn and retain facts and information.

I saw a physio who suggested that I was dyspraxic but I obtained the diagnosis from my CAMHS consultant. I have often struggled with balance and co-ordinating myself, I struggle with fine motor skills and organising myself. My dyspraxia affects my strength, for example I can get back ache quite quickly from standing up for certain amounts of time, my back also goes quite frequently too.

I sometimes become confused because these neurodiverse conditions have overlapping symptoms so when I experience a difficulty in a certain area, I’m sometimes unsure which neurodiverse condition it is that affects me in that area or whether two of them affect that area equally.

Thank you very much for reading and please share your experiences of your neurodiverse conditions and diagnosese.

Charlotte from Neureco X