“‘The Bright Underachiever:’ Cruelties I Heard Growing Up with Undiagnosed ADHD”
“The reality is that, while Maria is clearly a cognitively bright young lady, she wouldn’t necessarily be considered gifted in any particular area.”“In talking with Maria, it is clear that her family and instructors have historically viewed her as being intellectually quite bright and an underachiever.”These are not a passive-aggressive bully’s words, a sibling’s backhanded compliment, or careless remarks delivered at a parent-teacher conference.
These are the very deliberate words of a neurologist, neuropsychologist, and medical-education specialist following my ADHD evaluation in childhood.
The intended audience: my parents, my family physician, and my teachers.The clinic’s problematic “assessment” and cruel words still haunt me years later.
I didn’t read their words until I was in my 40s, and I finally understood why I had a decades-long habit of telling people I have no special talents.
United States
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Cases: 46 252 513
Deaths: 750 423
Recovered: 0
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India
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Cases: 34 321 025
Deaths: 459 652
Recovered: 0
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Brazil
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Cases: 21 835 785
Deaths: 608 235
Recovered: 0
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United Kingdom
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Cases: 9 215 683
Deaths: 141 607
Recovered: 0
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Russia
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Cases: 8 494 589
Deaths: 237 619
Recovered: 0
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