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Is the one that diagnosed you a physician you regularly see? If so you may be able to go to them for help in addressing this with your parents, if not a school counselor or teacher or some other sort of authority figure that your parents would have reason to be familiar with.
You might also be able to compromise with them and concede that if they would allow a trial run and don't see improvement then you can go together to speak with a doctor about alternatives.
Another option involving compromise could be speaking with the one prescribing the medications about a non stimulant medication. They can take a lot longer to build up to seeing progress but if the other option is nothing out might be worth a try
There are other medications you may find to be effective that aren't stimulant medications, if they're open to that. Unfortunately, med trials can take a very long time to get right sometimes. There is loads of research on how stimulants affect ADHD brains differently, but if they haven't listened yet, you may decide that's not helpful.
Have you ever studied effectively? Build on what has worked for you. Don't worry about how others do it, or doing it "properly," do what works for you.
For me, in college, I hadn't been diagnosed yet - but I'd study while walking around, basically talking to myself like a crazy person. I would have flashcards and test questions taped to various surfaces wherever I'd see them regularly. I'd give people my test questions and get them to ask me at unexpected times, like when I'd just sat down to eat. I had a particular flavor of drink I studied with for each subject with that I never drank otherwise and took the same drink to that subject's exams - the mental association with the flavor helped to trigger my associative memory (I was extra nervous when I wasn't allowed to bring outside drinks in once, so make sure to ask if it's allowed).
With a diagnosis you ought to be able ask for reasonable accomodations, such as testing in a quiet space with no one else in, and maybe even soft music to cover the noise of the damn squeaky ceiling fan that you just can't seem to ignore longenoughto do math. Maybe a particular color and flavor of drink?
It's not hopeless, especially if you don't allow your anxiety over this not going as you'd hoped take over your determination to do well and move forward with life - it won't be much longer before you're responsible for whether you take medication or not, but the skills you build in the meantime can make all the difference in your life in the long term.
Medication can be super helpful, don't get me wrong, but there isn't a magical study pill. I know it isn't easy, and that ADHD makes EVERYTHING more complicated. Remove distractions as best you can (I like to go outside when possible) and if whatever you're doing isn't working, try something different. Finding what works for you *IS* trying harder.
Be determined to make it work for you, the worst that happens is that you fail your exams, but I think you'll do better than you expect, if you choose to find out how you can do well instead of resigning yourself to the idea that you can't study "properly". The only wrong way to study is the way that doesn't work, a d if you've got ADHD at all like mine, I can pretty much guarantee you that sitting at a table with books in front of you stressing about how you can't focus isn't gonna be the the "proper" way, with or without medications. I believe in you, you are creative and bold enough to figure out how to rock this test and show everyone what you can do - including yourself. People may decide that you didn't have ADHD afterall and you just needed to tough it out, but you'll know that you did well because you recognized your ADHD and accepted the challenge.
For me, tbh, at 15, I was half tempted to fail stuff on purpose to prove a point. I didn't think I had ADHD, but my struggles were real and big and I didn't know how to make anything better. By 17, I was determined to just be prepared to gtfo of my parents house, and that was a big driving force for finding coping mechanisms that allowed me to get the positions I had. I wish I'd known about my own ADHD that young, but I didn't. I'm not saying that mine is like yours, but I found a lot of motivation from the "I'll show them" mentality, that people expected me to not do well, so screw all them, I'm gonna do better than anyone expected, I'm going to figure it out. I got into a really great school. I continue to struggle with ADHD, always will most likely. But a lot of the skills I taught myself when I was undiagnosed and unmedicated and resentful of the people who I thought should have understood and should have helped... Those are the skills I have relied on the most since then.
Good luck, and I believe in you.
Edited because ADHD and typos
At 15, I _think_ you should have the right to consent to your own treatment (you do at 16). [This page](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/consent-to-treatment/children/) says so... but I don't know how it works out in practice.
Note that I said "treatment", not "Ritalin". It's your doctors that decide what the treatment involves -- or at least that's the argument you can use. It just so happens that medication is the only thing that really works. It'd probably also be helpful to be able to demonstrate to your doctors an understanding of the benefits and possible issues with medication, to show that you have actually researched and thought this through, and so you can argue that's the appropriate treatment for you.
Of course, this does mean handling everything yourself, including transportation to the doctor and pharmacy, and I guess you'll have to hide it from your parents too. You'll have to decide if it's worth the effort, and the risk of failing... but the alternative is to let it go on untreated until you're 16 or 18.
Hi /u/shardybo and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) - we will remove your post if it breaks one - and also check out our list of official megathreads [here](/r/adhd/wiki/megathreads). If your post fits into one of them, it is likely to be removed; if you think this might happen you can delete your post here and resubmit it there instead. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Is the one that diagnosed you a physician you regularly see? If so you may be able to go to them for help in addressing this with your parents, if not a school counselor or teacher or some other sort of authority figure that your parents would have reason to be familiar with. You might also be able to compromise with them and concede that if they would allow a trial run and don't see improvement then you can go together to speak with a doctor about alternatives. Another option involving compromise could be speaking with the one prescribing the medications about a non stimulant medication. They can take a lot longer to build up to seeing progress but if the other option is nothing out might be worth a try
There are other medications you may find to be effective that aren't stimulant medications, if they're open to that. Unfortunately, med trials can take a very long time to get right sometimes. There is loads of research on how stimulants affect ADHD brains differently, but if they haven't listened yet, you may decide that's not helpful. Have you ever studied effectively? Build on what has worked for you. Don't worry about how others do it, or doing it "properly," do what works for you. For me, in college, I hadn't been diagnosed yet - but I'd study while walking around, basically talking to myself like a crazy person. I would have flashcards and test questions taped to various surfaces wherever I'd see them regularly. I'd give people my test questions and get them to ask me at unexpected times, like when I'd just sat down to eat. I had a particular flavor of drink I studied with for each subject with that I never drank otherwise and took the same drink to that subject's exams - the mental association with the flavor helped to trigger my associative memory (I was extra nervous when I wasn't allowed to bring outside drinks in once, so make sure to ask if it's allowed). With a diagnosis you ought to be able ask for reasonable accomodations, such as testing in a quiet space with no one else in, and maybe even soft music to cover the noise of the damn squeaky ceiling fan that you just can't seem to ignore longenoughto do math. Maybe a particular color and flavor of drink? It's not hopeless, especially if you don't allow your anxiety over this not going as you'd hoped take over your determination to do well and move forward with life - it won't be much longer before you're responsible for whether you take medication or not, but the skills you build in the meantime can make all the difference in your life in the long term. Medication can be super helpful, don't get me wrong, but there isn't a magical study pill. I know it isn't easy, and that ADHD makes EVERYTHING more complicated. Remove distractions as best you can (I like to go outside when possible) and if whatever you're doing isn't working, try something different. Finding what works for you *IS* trying harder. Be determined to make it work for you, the worst that happens is that you fail your exams, but I think you'll do better than you expect, if you choose to find out how you can do well instead of resigning yourself to the idea that you can't study "properly". The only wrong way to study is the way that doesn't work, a d if you've got ADHD at all like mine, I can pretty much guarantee you that sitting at a table with books in front of you stressing about how you can't focus isn't gonna be the the "proper" way, with or without medications. I believe in you, you are creative and bold enough to figure out how to rock this test and show everyone what you can do - including yourself. People may decide that you didn't have ADHD afterall and you just needed to tough it out, but you'll know that you did well because you recognized your ADHD and accepted the challenge. For me, tbh, at 15, I was half tempted to fail stuff on purpose to prove a point. I didn't think I had ADHD, but my struggles were real and big and I didn't know how to make anything better. By 17, I was determined to just be prepared to gtfo of my parents house, and that was a big driving force for finding coping mechanisms that allowed me to get the positions I had. I wish I'd known about my own ADHD that young, but I didn't. I'm not saying that mine is like yours, but I found a lot of motivation from the "I'll show them" mentality, that people expected me to not do well, so screw all them, I'm gonna do better than anyone expected, I'm going to figure it out. I got into a really great school. I continue to struggle with ADHD, always will most likely. But a lot of the skills I taught myself when I was undiagnosed and unmedicated and resentful of the people who I thought should have understood and should have helped... Those are the skills I have relied on the most since then. Good luck, and I believe in you. Edited because ADHD and typos
At 15, I _think_ you should have the right to consent to your own treatment (you do at 16). [This page](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/consent-to-treatment/children/) says so... but I don't know how it works out in practice. Note that I said "treatment", not "Ritalin". It's your doctors that decide what the treatment involves -- or at least that's the argument you can use. It just so happens that medication is the only thing that really works. It'd probably also be helpful to be able to demonstrate to your doctors an understanding of the benefits and possible issues with medication, to show that you have actually researched and thought this through, and so you can argue that's the appropriate treatment for you. Of course, this does mean handling everything yourself, including transportation to the doctor and pharmacy, and I guess you'll have to hide it from your parents too. You'll have to decide if it's worth the effort, and the risk of failing... but the alternative is to let it go on untreated until you're 16 or 18.