What's a better way to learn and understand a           disorder than with an animated book?

 Hi! My name is Tommy, and I'm 6 years old. I live with my parents and 2 siblings. Our home can sometimes become loud, active and also a bit disorganized at times which can be overwhelming at times. I have been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder also known as ADHD. Before I was diagnosed and understood that I had ADHD, I always felt my head spinning with thoughts all the time. It often made me wonder "Am I the only one that feels like this." I will be explaining my experience with this disorder and how it affected me and also teach you to understand every part of it.

Before we begin, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can may begin during childhood and can last all the way to adulthood.  ADHD can be presented in 3 different ways like predominantly inattentive presentation, predominantly hyperactive/impulsive presentation and combined presentation. Sometimes we see all of these together. Now are you ready ?

Let's begin from the start. Around six months or more before I was diagnosed with ADHD, I wasn't having a great time at school or at home. I often felt like my head was spinning like a tornado all the time. I was having lots of thoughts all at once, and my head just kept spinning and spinning. At school, I would often get upset with others over small things, like a broken crayon. I also had trouble paying attention, which was one of my biggest difficulties because it affected my school grades. I often had trouble making friends because I would often get upset quickly, act without thinking, or not pay attention to what they did or said.  Home was no different. I often started running all over the house to help calm down the tornado in my head. Because of this I often acted impulsively and got in trouble a lot.

Inattention 

impulsivity

Hyperactivity

Social Impact

I used to be misunderstood as the "trouble kid" or "bad kid"  because I wouldn't pay attention and often acted out at school and at home. One day when I was getting in trouble, Ms. Owl asked me if there was something bothering me or making me upset. I said that I always felt like there was a tornado in my head, with many ideas rushing in all together, it often got loud. The only way I knew how to control it was by doing something fun like running. Later that day, Ms. Owl talked to my parents and they decided to take me to the doctor to find out what was going on with me.

The next day, we went to the doctor's office, and the doctor asked questions about my difficulties  with school. Then the doctor asked a lot of questions to my parents about me, he also called my teacher to get information about me and how I was in school. The doctor asked how my attention, activity level and behavior affected my daily life. He also explained that ADHD isn't just diagnosed in on test but they need to put together all of the information like symptoms and effects in our lives.