Meet the Author

By now, you’ve probably seen my quick intro, but I want to slow down for a second and share a little more of the real story behind it.

I moved to the United States when I was 9. Back in Ireland, I was never the “smartest kid” in my class, and honestly? I definitely needed extra help with times tables and spelling. If I’m being real, I didn’t always feel behind, I just knew things took me longer or needed to be taught in a way that actually stuck.

One of the biggest reasons I made it through those early years without completely losing confidence is my mom. She has been one of the most important people in my ADHD journey, and I don’t say that lightly. She’s the kind of person who doesn’t just tell you to try harder, she figures out how to make it work. She would lay multiplication sums out on the tiles in our kitchen and literally make me play hopscotch until I learned them. At the time I probably thought it was just another weird “mom idea,” but looking back, it’s kind of incredible. She made learning feel like something I could actually do.

So, when we moved to the U.S., it makes sense that she kept looking for more ways to help, because school got harder. Not “a little challenging” harder. More like… too difficult, in a way I couldn’t fully explain. And it wasn’t just math anymore. The signs started showing up more clearly, and my mom reached out to our health provider. Eventually, we found a lady, her name is fuzzy to me now, but I’ll never forget what it felt like sitting in her office for five hours on a Saturday, wishing I could be outside. She asked me strange questions, pulled out huge binders, and made me read. A lot.

I would later find out that was an ADHD test, along with other learning disability assessments. After that, she advised my mom to see a few different people: a vision therapist, an occupational therapist, a therapist, and a couple others. And that’s where this all starts to take off.

I’d be lying if I said I remember every person I saw or every appointment I went to, but I do remember the hours. So many hours spent diverging and converging my eyes, catching tennis balls, and practicing reading. As an elementary schooler, I didn’t really understand what the point was. I mostly just knew I was doing a lot of work while other kids were… not. But now, I get it. Now I understand what all of that was for, and I’m genuinely grateful my mom kept pushing for answers, even when it would’ve been easier to shrug and say, “She’ll grow out of it.”

So, what even is ADHD? ADHD stands for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. It’s a neurodevelopmental disorder. And okay, what does that actually mean in normal-person language? The grossly simplified version people jump to is you can’t focus. But even that doesn’t really cover it.

A lot of our brains create quick “prototypes” of what things look like, like a mental stock photo. So, if you picture ADHD, you might automatically imagine a young boy bouncing in his seat or a messy room or scribbled handwriting… and yes, sometimes that’s exactly what it is. But I want you to try to rethink that. ADHD presents in so many different ways, and sometimes it can look loud and obvious, and sometimes it looks calm. Sometimes it looks like someone who seems “fine” on the outside but is quietly working ten times harder on the inside just to keep up.

I wasn’t medicated until my sophomore year of high school. And before I go deeper into that part of my story, I want to be really clear: I’m not a medical expert, and I’m not praising medication. I’m simply explaining what it meant for me personally. Medication may not be right for you, and it’s something you should only decide with a medical provider.

The summer before 10th grade, my vision therapist advised me to see this lady. And I remember thinking, Another doctor?? (Because truly… how many more people can one person possibly be sent to?)

One day that summer, I was scheduled to meet Kiki on my break. My car was a mess, my head was a mess, and I was exhausted from working all day. I joined the call, and the first thing she said was, “Nice to meet you,” with this gigantic smile on her face. It sounds small, but it wasn’t. After so many dull doctors and strange rooms, it felt refreshing. It felt real, like I was talking to an actual person, not being evaluated like a test.

In our first session, she learned more about me, and we went over my schedule. That part was important because having an organized schedule matters for everybody, but for someone with ADHD, it can be the difference between feeling capable and feeling completely overwhelmed. From there, I met with her once every two weeks, and we talked about everything and anything.

That’s a little bit of my journey so far. I’m still growing and still adjusting, and I can guarantee I’m not done with it yet, and honestly, I’ll probably gain more therapists along the way. And I’m okay with that now. I’ve learned that support isn’t something you “graduate” from. Sometimes it’s something you build over time.

I also want to tell you a little bit about me, outside of all the ADHD stuff. As I mentioned, I’m a high school junior! I’m currently taking AP Lang, AP Psych, and AP U.S. History (I know.). I play flag football and swim, for my high school team and a club team. I run two clubs: Play It Forward (an athlete mental health support club) and Civic Engagement (a club that focuses on current events and helping the community around us). When I grow up, I would love to be an occupational therapist or a teacher. Anyways, enough about me before this turns into a full autobiography.

I genuinely can’t wait to write more blogs and keep building this website. Some topics I’ll be writing about soon are women masking ADHD, ways to stay focused, mental health, relationships, school, and so much more.

Thanks for reading! - Love Rebecca