desperate to get noticed. There’s always a bunch of wannabe actors or models just hanging out, hoping a model scout or acting agent will pick them out. They’re all fighting for the same acting job or modelling assignment, so will do whatever it takes to get seen. The plus side is that it’s full of totally different clothes and accessories. I’ve never gone there and not found something I’ve liked. They’ve got really cool clothes and that’s the reason it’s been around since the seventies.
M Y mum took me to school on my first day. The place was massive. There was a stream of people going through the gates. It was like going to one of my dad’s concerts at a big arena. I was taken to the principal’s office and handed a timetable. That was it. I was very much the British girl and my accent really made me stand out and soon enough I fell into that whole transatlantic accent thing. I’d go up at the end of sentences and all that shit. But, after a while, I realised Iwanted to keep my English accent.
I hated Hawthorne. I hated that school. I got lost in the crowd. It was a big school, so sometimes I would literally get bloody lost in the crowd. But it was more about the American education system which is just so different to the UK one. I didn’t have a clue what was going on in the lessons. Because I had dyslexia it meant that I was doubly struggling. It didn’t really seem to be working out for me at the new school.
It was around this time that I was also diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). There are different levels and symptoms, but generally it means that a person finds it difficult to maintain attention without being distracted. Jack was diagnosed with it at the same time too. I think that having ADHD was another reason I was struggling to understand the new lessons. As a child I was always bouncing about and jumping around, so I probably had it from as far back as then. My parents probably thought I was just being a lively kid.
T HERE is nothing embarrassing about being diagnosed with ADHD.
Here’s a good fact: children who are diagnosed with ADHD often have above-average intelligence. They just find it hard to channel their concentration on one task.
You should take a look at ADDISS, the National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service.
This charity will really sort you out and it can offer information and advice about ADHD for you, your family and even your teachers. You can call, email or visit their resource centre, where they have lots of books and videos on ADHD. They also have information on Tourette’s Syndrome and Asperger’s Syndrome if you need advice or help with this.
ADDISS Resource Centre
2nd Floor, Premier House
112 Station Road
Edgware
HA8 7BJ
☎ 020 8952 2800
[email protected]
www.addiss.co.uk
Misunderstood
D OCTORS think that ADHD is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that affects the bit that controls attention, concentration and impulsivity. There are lots of people out there to talk to about it who will help make sense of how you’re feeling.
Misunderstood is a charity that provides a helpline for you and your family if you are affected by ADHD. They are helping to fund research into treatments and finding ways to help kids deal with and manage their ADHD, and they have a specialist ADHD consultant on site. They also hold lots of fundraising events during the year, to help raise money and awareness, so check out their site for further details.
☎ 01634 328 162
www.misunderstood.org.uk
I am someone who is always on the go. When I was sitting in the back of a classroom, not understanding half the things that were going on and something grabbed my attention outside, I would just lose concentration. That would probably have happened even if I’d not had ADHD, I was so far behind in the lessons.
I think it was my mum who first thought I might have ADHD. She took me to see the doctor in LA. He
M Y mum took me to school on my first day. The place was massive. There was a stream of people going through the gates. It was like going to one of my dad’s concerts at a big arena. I was taken to the principal’s office and handed a timetable. That was it. I was very much the British girl and my accent really made me stand out and soon enough I fell into that whole transatlantic accent thing. I’d go up at the end of sentences and all that shit. But, after a while, I realised Iwanted to keep my English accent.
I hated Hawthorne. I hated that school. I got lost in the crowd. It was a big school, so sometimes I would literally get bloody lost in the crowd. But it was more about the American education system which is just so different to the UK one. I didn’t have a clue what was going on in the lessons. Because I had dyslexia it meant that I was doubly struggling. It didn’t really seem to be working out for me at the new school.
It was around this time that I was also diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). There are different levels and symptoms, but generally it means that a person finds it difficult to maintain attention without being distracted. Jack was diagnosed with it at the same time too. I think that having ADHD was another reason I was struggling to understand the new lessons. As a child I was always bouncing about and jumping around, so I probably had it from as far back as then. My parents probably thought I was just being a lively kid.
T HERE is nothing embarrassing about being diagnosed with ADHD.
Here’s a good fact: children who are diagnosed with ADHD often have above-average intelligence. They just find it hard to channel their concentration on one task.
You should take a look at ADDISS, the National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service.
This charity will really sort you out and it can offer information and advice about ADHD for you, your family and even your teachers. You can call, email or visit their resource centre, where they have lots of books and videos on ADHD. They also have information on Tourette’s Syndrome and Asperger’s Syndrome if you need advice or help with this.
ADDISS Resource Centre
2nd Floor, Premier House
112 Station Road
Edgware
HA8 7BJ
☎ 020 8952 2800
[email protected]
www.addiss.co.uk
Misunderstood
D OCTORS think that ADHD is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that affects the bit that controls attention, concentration and impulsivity. There are lots of people out there to talk to about it who will help make sense of how you’re feeling.
Misunderstood is a charity that provides a helpline for you and your family if you are affected by ADHD. They are helping to fund research into treatments and finding ways to help kids deal with and manage their ADHD, and they have a specialist ADHD consultant on site. They also hold lots of fundraising events during the year, to help raise money and awareness, so check out their site for further details.
☎ 01634 328 162
www.misunderstood.org.uk
I am someone who is always on the go. When I was sitting in the back of a classroom, not understanding half the things that were going on and something grabbed my attention outside, I would just lose concentration. That would probably have happened even if I’d not had ADHD, I was so far behind in the lessons.
I think it was my mum who first thought I might have ADHD. She took me to see the doctor in LA. He
Similar Books
