Just Another Day of Heavy Distraction
Erratic, impulsive yet determined: it's the mantra for an average student with a not-so-average disorder.
by Megan Claus, Jayplay writer
Hair wet and towel-clad, Nicole stands at the edge of the front doorstep, waves her friends goodbye after confirming the evening plans and quickly runs barefoot back into her room. At 10:30 p.m., Nicole's roommates are out the door for the night. It will be midnight before she is finished getting ready and heading out to meet them.
She tells herself to focus. But in the meantime, the blaring television in the next room draws her into the final scenes of Bruce Almighty. She stands there, tapping her mascara wand in the air to the beat of something she's humming to herself, barely engaged with the flick and talking about her inability to focus on one thing at a time. "We'll be talking about the rain and the next thing you know, I'll be like, look at my tennis shoes." The faint ring of her cell phone captures her attention. Eyes wide, mind a blur, she appears moving her head from side to side trying to decide what to do next. It's time to head back into her room to perform a strip search to recover the missing phone. Noticing the heaping pile of clothes that failed to satisfy her evening look, she stops to rethink what she's doing now. "This place is such a mess." She clears a few tops off her bed, folds them and discovers her phone. She notices a missed phone call and then remembers that she was just on a rampage to find the phone. Sighing, she tries to recall what she was going to do next. She glimpses at the clock, it is now 11:15 p.m. and she feels a sting of panic. Running her fingers through her damp brown hair, she moves for the hairdryer and abruptly stops short. She needs to find her mascara first. Realizing she's in a whirlwind of unfinished tasks, she falls to her bed for a moment to rethink how she is going to finish in time to meet her friends.
Many adults with ADHD have trouble following conversations, remembering job assignments, organizing and are prone to procrastination, according to the American Journal of Psychiatry. They also have more secondary problems like low self-esteem and anxiety.
Nicole Naifeh, Oklahoma City senior has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
low self esteem and anxiety There are several types of ADHD. Naifeh has a form that has predominant
- inattentive type of ADHD is more prominent in girls
- hyperactive type of ADHD is more prominent in boys (Dr. Linda Keeler, M.D., psychiatrist for counseling and psychological services.)
symptoms of inattention but does not show a hyperactive component.
show a hyperactive component. "What we know is that for adults with this problem, as they grow up, sometimes the hyperactivity component may drop out of the picture but the inattentiveness still may persist," Dr. Keeler said.
Keeler says that some students might have had a mild form of inattentiveness in childhood. Once they arrive at college, a different level of attention is required. Sometimes students display symptoms of ADHD and do not know they have the disorder. Such symptoms include making careless mistakes in school or work, talking incessantly, blurting out answers or difficulties organizing tasks.
Although earlier signs indicated she had a problem, Naifeh wasn't diagnosed until high school. In the sixth grade, Naifeh's classroom featured a wall where outlandish quotes from students were posted. "I owned that wall, I dominated it,"
Naifeh began receiving erratic grades during her first two years of high school. Tests confirmed the disorder just before her junior year. Despite the fact that Naifeh's school had never dealt with learning disabilities before, she says she refused to switch to a school that did.
refused to switch to swiffer "I'd known all these kids forever. I loved my friends, I wasn't going anywhere," she says. "All it takes is for someone to believe that you are capable."
She faced additional pressure because her high school had never provided programs for students with learning disabilities before her. The school allowed her extra time for tests, tutors and extensions. These allowances raised her grades and brought back her confidence.
grades and brought "You have your school and then you have your everyday tasks like taking a shower, things that need to be done during a regular day," Naifeh says. "Following through with things that wouldn't phase anyone else is difficult for me."
prase anyone else?
When the time came to choose a college, Naifeh was instructed to look at more than just location and majors. Her
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Jayplay 9.2.04