ADD

Ahh yes, ADD.  My daughter has it.  I REFUSE to use ADHD to define what she has because she's not hyper.
When she tells me about it, I know exactly what she's talking about because I have it too.
"It's like I'm there, but I'm not there"  yes, kid I know what you mean.

What she is saying is that she's physically in the class room but unable to participate in the lecture. Her brain fights to stay with what's going on in the class room but can't. This goes way beyond " OH Shiny!" This is a battle.
She has all the classic symptoms.

• difficulty paying attention to details and tendency to make careless mistakes in school or other activities; producing work that is often messy and careless
• easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and frequently interrupting ongoing tasks to attend to trivial noises or events that are usually ignored by others
• inability to sustain attention on tasks or activities
• difficulty finishing schoolwork or paperwork or performing tasks that require concentration
• frequent shifts from one uncompleted activity to another
• procrastination
• disorganized work habits
• forgetfulness in daily activities (for example, missing appointments, forgetting to bring lunch)
• failure to complete tasks such as homework or chores
• frequent shifts in conversation, not listening to others, not keeping one's mind on conversations, and not following details or rules of activities in social situations

http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-symptoms

 But it goes further. She is also is highly emotional. This is another symptom, but not classic.

This is where I guess i have the hardest time. Yes, Me. If she gets a scrap or bruise I can take care of that.  An Ice pack or band aid and some hugs. Done!  But this... this stumps me every time. Having to explain over and over that's she's not dumb and that she just learns differently gets tiresome. I'm sure she's sick of hearing it. We are both learning. When I was her age, I too had ADD. They didn't have the diagnosis then, or treatments or special classes (All of which My Daughter is a part of in some way)  I just had to deal with it. So, Yes, I too am learning.

My ADD held me back in school.
I'm truly hoping that is no going to happen with my Daughter

Introduction

Lets see, where to begin?

I had my daughter young. Her father is not a part of our lives (perhaps a whole different post)
so it's just been us.
I realize that since I did have her young, I seem to be ahead of the curve on my friends. I have gone through it first. Not that it's any sort of race, but it is what it is.

That being said; I do believe I'm headed into  a crazy time in my daughter's life. I remember these years myself, but I was in her shoes and not in my mother's.
So it occurred to me that I need to find a place to vent, or a place to pose questions and find answers.

I'm not an "expert", I've just been there.

Sarah