Should I bring up the possibility of dyslexia to my doctor?

As someone who is both dyslexic and ADHD, I think you should get it checked out. If you do have a learning disorder, certain accommodations can be made by your teachers that might be a big help (e.g. being able to record lectures). There are strategies and techniques that you can learn that should help as well. I’m an avid reader myself, but it takes me much longer than other people. Whenever there’s text in a movie, it almost always disappears before I finish reading it.

The earmark for getting a diagnoses is that it impairs normal life functioning. That seems to be the case with you. In order to know what, specifically, could be the disorder and then work towards management, you need to stop taking online quizzes, asking the opinions of friends and Internet backseat doctors and go see a doctor. Feel free to show him/her this post, as you have done a good job describing your frustrations here. It is possible to get help, but only if you go through the appropriate channels. Stop procrastinating.

Diagnostic Criteria ADHD

ADHD is a bogus condition. Invented to sell drugs.

@flip86 <I poke you in the eye>

@GloPro I don’t care what you think. I was “diagnosed” as ADHD as a child and was on a ton of medications that did absolutely nothing. I behaved the same whether I was on them or not. You know what did help? Time. I grew out of those behaviors. I haven’t been on medication since I was 16. I’m 30 now. Society, and you apparently, have been brainwashed into thinking ADHD is a real disease. It isn’t. There are underlying causes(like stress, family problems, neglect, abuse)to the behaviors attributed to ADHD. Address those, and you change the behavior.

Nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. ADHD is a phony disease.

Ok. If that’s your opinion maybe you should refrain from giving negative and judgemental viewpoints to someone asking for help and feeling frustrated. What do you care if another person – a stranger to you – is “brainwashed” into a better control of themselves. Being argumentative serves no purpose in this general thread.

Because people should seek to actually fix their problem. Getting a bogus diagnosis does nobody any good.

Well, he has a choice of taking your opinion and comparing it to everyone else’s, this is true. I guess suggesting to a new jelly that they may be brainwashed and judging them when they ask for help is the standard welcome, though, isn’t it.

@PriceisRightx26 It is my opinion that ADHD is a real issue that may be treated in a number of ways. Drugs are only one method. The first step is to go seek professional opinions, multiple opinions if you like. Then you may address managing what is discovered.

@GloPro I was addressing you and society in general. The OP seems reluctant to believe the ADHD claim. They are right to be skeptical.

@PriceisRightx26 They’re both real and exist at different levels in different people. I’ve known a lot of people with either one. And they seem to respond to some meds and not others. Or if they can’t find a med you can at least make allowances for it and live a better life. So ask about them. And welcome to fluther.

I suggest you read The Dyslexic Advantage and The Gift of Dyslexia.

They both give you tools to handle and understand dyslexia and its resulting problems. But also to see and use the strengths.

I don’t know much about doctor’s or accommodations for this sort of thing so I will let someone else answer that.

Well, I do the same things. I think the text heavy, having to re read issue is pretty normal. It’s hard to focus on boring stuff. I had to re read all the time when I was in college.

Sitting through boring things, like orientation, is hard for everyone. No one likes to be bored. I think it’s worse today, though, with a never ending stream of entertainment usually at our finger tips.

I have forgotten my train of thought a few times in the middle of a conversation, but I never felt that was unusual. It’s pretty common to hear people say, “Wait…what was I (or ‘were we’) talking about?”

As far as your friends suggesting you get tested for ADHD…that’s short for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” Have you friends told you why they think you should get tested for it?

@flip86 – Just because you believe that you were misdiagnosed does not make ADHD a “bogus” diagnosis. Having worked for several years as part of a developmental team that assessed children’s learning challenges, I assure you that some people genuinely can not focus and truly benefit from the medications. However, I do agree that too many kids have been given the diagnosis and put on medications without undergoing comprehensive evaluations. There is a great deal of overlap in how learning differences manifest in kids, so misdiagnosis does happen.

@PriceisRightx26 – The first thing to do is to express your concerns to your parents (if you are a minor or financially dependent on them), and your school counselor. You can begin with basic hearing and vision tests to ensure that your acuity in those senses is normal, because even mild sensory deficits can lead to surprising behaviors, because the extra effort one expends in trying to compensate is very fatiguing. Even disrupted sleep from breathing, sinus, adenoids, apnea can show up as learning difficulties. If your insurance requires referrals, you will need to mention it to your physician.

More comprehensive testing of visual and auditory processing may not be covered. A neuro-optometrist would test you for ocular-motor and perceptual problems that might cause your symptoms. An Audiologist (which is what I am) would test your auditory attention and auditory processing abilities. Occupational Therapists can check for sensory integration, fine-motor, hand-eye and other measures of skills needed for learning. The school may cover some of the specialized testing, but some might be self-pay; your counselor should be able to advise you in that regard.

Much of what you experience describes me, too. I am confident that if I had been born 30 years later, I’d have been classified or diagnosed. I managed to struggle through and surprised myself by getting a Master’s Degree. I hope that you do get some answers and effective coping strategies. Good luck!