Maybe start here if you want to know more about why I started this blog?
Hey! I'm Elizabeth! And that's me up there, waving at the camera in my cap and gown, playing at my own college graduation.
I was 21 years old when this photo was taken and in just a few months I was going to be moving to Tennessee to start grad school.
What you can't tell by the photo is how sleep deprived I was, how overwhelmed I was by the heat, the bright sunlight, the noise, the crowd, and having to run around so I could actually walk. It was an amazing day but also hard to enjoy because I was overwhelmed by everything around me. Despite all this and myriad other symptoms that had been present my entire life, I wouldn't get diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) for another 4 years.
Finally, the 2nd year of my doctoral program and at 25 years old, I was finally diagnosed with ADHD. Getting diagnosed was not easy, but that's a story for another day.
Suddenly, so much more about my life and my brain made a lot more sense! It was overwhelming but also an enormous relief.
I started medication shortly after that and it felt like someone had removed the cellophane bag from my head that I hadn't even known was there. Although medication helps, it doesn't do the work for me.
Once I found out that I have ADHD, I realized that I could use that knowledge to my advantage because I'm both a student and a teacher.
I started to read about ADHD, the different types, symptoms that go beyond what the label suggests, strategies for overcoming the negative symptoms, basically everything I could get my hands on. And then I started applying what I learned about how ADHD and neurodivergent brains work to what I was doing in my own classes, my own practicing, and my own teaching.
And do you know what happened?
I got better.**
The most immediate results were in my own practice. I was able to remember things more long term and my recall became faster. I was able to practice in the evening and go back the next morning and the work was still there rather than seeming like it had been erased overnight. My outlook improved and I stopped judging myself so harshly. I felt more comfortable taking risks because I felt more confident that my preparation was solid and would keep me afloat even if I stumbled. As a result, my playing related anxiety decreased-- on flute AND on my secondary instrument, piano.
So, I've started this blog to try and help the other students and teachers out there because it can hard being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world and we could all use a little more understanding.
**I should clarify that I got better at learning and practicing and flute and piano, not that I "got better" from ADHD, that's not a thing, you can't cure ADHD, and having ADHD doesn't mean there is something wrong with you!**