Did you find out that you didn't have ADHD?

[PermanentTemporary]

I'll try not to navel gaze but I've been considering the possibility that I have ADHD for a while. Online screeners that don't look too trashy suggest it could be worth going further.

If that's me, it does explain some things and might help me make a career decision that's coming up. If not, it probably doesn't change that much - I could make the same decision, after all.

Was it worth going for a diagnosis? Particularly interested in those who were assessed but didn't have it.

I could remember many incidents in my childhood that would indicate I had ADHD as my family never let me forget them

ADHD masking looks like this:

	Staying too quiet and being overly careful about what you say to avoid talking too much or interrupting people
	<a class="break-all" href="https://www.verywellhealth.com/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-5084138" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Obsessively checking</a>g_ your belongings to make sure that you don&#039;t lose things
	Reacting as you are expected to during class instead of how you feel inside
	Seeming &quot;fine&quot; and not showing any signs that there is a problem when in reality, you are struggling to keep up or maintain relationships
	Being overly conscientious about how clean the house looks even though you may be overwhelmed by all the work it takes to keep it tidy

In other words it's looking like you are coping but you are using extraordinary amounts of energy both mental and emotional to achieve these tasks. It's creating complex strategies like checking and rechecking. Creating copious lists. Doing lots of additional energy sapping things to find ways to achieve the behaviours and actions of NT people.

You can't mask short term or working memory.
When you are doing something that requires working memory like maths, you can't mask this. It's not something you can copy or mimic.

It is like a dyslexic person can mask their reading issues by listening to others, working hard to pick up cues, look at pictures to figure stuff out but they can't mask by actually reading.

@Yalta
Small children have deadlines and organisational tasks such as gathering everything they need for the day before you go out and being ready with minimal support.

Compiling what's needed for a craft task

Knowing what sequence things need to be done in

Knowing where their belongings are

Remembering and following multi step instructions

Transitioning between tasks.

Many of these things can. Not be masked or mimicked. For example remembering and following multi step instructions. If they can't then no amount of mimicking will mean they actually remember and follow the instructions.

Masking only works for some things. Like not fidgeting. Like you say, it takes a lot of energy to do this. You can't effort your way to processing information that you can't process.