“Don’t be lazy!” That ADHD voice, plus the ADHD tax (Tony’s story)

Tony Tran decided to get evaluated for ADHD during his last year
of college, after starting a part-time IT job. His grades began
to slip, and his brain would scream at him: “Don’t be lazy!” Then
he realized that the fake scenarios he had to solve alone in
class were boring compared to the real-life problems he
collaborated on with his co-workers.  


When Tony was a child, his family immigrated to Australia from
Vietnam. Growing up, Tony’s ADHD symptoms were missed. But now
his mom even sees ADHD in herself. After being diagnosed, Tony
felt grief for lost time — time when he could have known why he
felt like the “annoying weird kid.” Time when he could have held
on to relationships that ended because of his trouble managing
emotions. But that lost time led him to who he is today: A person
with deeper understanding of ADHD and the strengths that can come
with it. 


Also in this episode: The “ADHD tax.” Listen in to see if you’ve
paid a literal price as a result of ADHD behaviors.  


To find a transcript for this episode and more resources, visit
the episode page at Understood.  


We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at
ADHDAha@understood.org.  
Related resources

ADHD and coping with rejection

ADHD and emotions

5 ways ADHD can affect social skills



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