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Failing at Normal: An ADHD Success Story | Jessica McCabe | TEDxBratislava

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    Hello brains!
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    I say that to you because...
    if you think about it.
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    It wasn't really you
    that decided to come here today.
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    It was your brain.
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    And whether you decided
    to walk or drive, take a taxi, ride a bike
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    That decision was decided
    by your brain.
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    Behavior, all behavior,
    is affected by your brain.
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    This is a story about my brain.
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    So, I was a smart kid. By 18 months I
    was speaking in full sentences.
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    By third grade I was scoring
    post high school on standardized tests.
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    I had as all my teacher's agreed,
    so much potential.
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    I was also struggling.
    I didn't have many... any friends.
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    Outside of books.
    I was easily overwhelmed.
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    I spaced out in class.
    I lost things, constantly.
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    And trying to get my brain to focus on
    something I wasn't excited about...
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    was like trying to nail Jell-O
    to the wall.
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    But I was smart.
    So nobody was worried.
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    It wasn't until middle school
    when I was responsible for
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    getting myself to classes on time,
    and remembering to bring my own homework.
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    That being smart wasn't enough anymore,
    and my grades started to suffer.
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    My mom took me to the doctor
    and after a comprehensive evaluation.
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    I was diagnosed with
    attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
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    ADHD.
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    If you're not familiar with ADHD
    it has three primary characteristics.
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    Inattention, impulsivity,
    and hyperactivity.
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    Some people with ADHD
    have more of the inattentive presentation.
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    Those are the daydreamers,
    the space cadets.
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    Some have more of
    the hyperactive/impulsive presentation.
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    Those are the kids that usually
    get diagnosed early.
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    But, the most common presentation
    is a combination of both.
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    My doctor and my parents decided
    that given my shiny new diagnosis.
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    Maybe stimulant medication would succeed,
    where spankings and lectures had failed.
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    So I tried it.
    And it worked.
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    The first time I took my medication
    it was like putting on glasses.
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    And realizing I could see,
    without squinting.
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    I could focus!
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    Without changing anything
    my GPA went up a full point.
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    Honestly it was kind of miraculous.
    By 14 I had friends, that liked me.
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    By 15 I had published my first poem.
    I got a boyfriend.
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    By 17 I knew I wanted
    to be a journalist.
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    My local college had a program that would
    guarantee admission to USC.
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    They had a really
    great journalism program.
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    So, I signed up at my local college
    and I started taking classes.
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    I moved in with my boyfriend.
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    Things were going great!
    ...until they weren't.
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    I started having trouble making it
    to class on time.
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    I aced a statistics course,
    but I forgot to sign up in time.
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    So, I never got the credit.
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    I took classes so I could help
    my boyfriend with his career.
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    But I completely lost sight of mine.
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    I never made it to USC...
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    By 21 I dropped out of college
    and moved back home.
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    Over the next ten years I started
    and quit, or was fired from 15 jobs.
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    I ruined my credit.
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    I got married!
    And was divorced within a year.
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    At this point I was 32, and I
    had no idea what I was doing with my life.
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    Besides reading self-help books
    that didn't seem to be helping.
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    What h
Title:
Failing at Normal: An ADHD Success Story | Jessica McCabe | TEDxBratislava
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Video Language:
English
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Duration:
17:12

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