As a Chalkbeat intern, I hope to amplify the experiences of students who struggled like I did without accommodations for ADHD.

I have always needed to work 10 times harder than my peers only to feel like I was hardly learning. Teachers commonly said I was not reaching my full potential.

The worst part was that I had no idea how to reach my “full potential.”

I seemed like a solid student on paper: good enough grades, ideal attendance rates, involved in extracurriculars, and college-bound. My only behavioral issue was talking too much. Educators did not seem to recognize I was dealing with a bigger issue and needed accommodations for ADHD.

At the time, I did not know that I had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD, a disability that impacts daily functioning. Inattention, hyperactivity, auditory processing issues, impulsivity, impatience, and poor organizational skills all made school a daily challenge.

Navigating School Without ADHD Accommodations

I would take pages of notes without any recollection of what I just learned. Lectures did not help me in classes like math or science. Instead, I needed one-on-one support to walk me through each step. Many of my teachers were unable or unwilling to provide these accommodations for ADHD. Sometimes they were overburdened, and other times, they reduced my challenges to not reading my notes well enough or not paying attention.

I even struggled in classes I had greater interest in, like English and history. I always enjoyed writing but found reading difficult. I would read entire chapters of books before realizing I did not retain any of the information, making reading too frustrating to enjoy. Lectures were especially challenging, as I struggled to focus and process everything my instructors said.

Test-taking was always a nightmare, mainly because my brain concentrated on the sounds of writing pencils and shuffling papers around the class rather than the test in front of me. I felt unequipped to succeed.

These experiences shaped the way I experienced education. I grew to feel resentful and angry at my school, and frustrated with myself. I did not think most of my teachers believed in me, and ultimately, I stopped believing in myself. I wanted to see a world where students did not have to struggle in the same ways I did.

Read the full article about ADHD accommodations by Alex Klaus at Chalkbeat.