I'm no doctor and can only reply from exerience. I would have been labeled "hyper" as a child; equivalent to ADHD today. I believe my parents used to give me coffee to 'calm down' and once tried medication. A complete failure. As a youngster I remember actually telling people that I couldn't 'shut off my mind'. I was ALWAYS thinking and moving.
My parents didn't know what to do, so in the end didn't do much to help me. It wasn't until I was in my late teens that I had the chance to try to get my mind under control. I started with yoga, then tai chi, then meditation. What a miracle! If I had had the chance to start these practices as a kid what a difference it would have made.
I think, for me anyway, I didn't have an 'Attention Deficit' or 'Hyperactivity'. I just saw and felt and experienced EVERYTHING. So while the person sitting next to me only saw the bird flying by and felt happy that they saw the bird and enjoyed the experience. I saw the bird, the prey it was after, the person sitting next to me on the bench, the dog in the park, the flower blowing in the wind you get the point; I felt upset at the bird, sad for the prey, curious about the person, anxious about the dog, and hopeful that I'd get to pick the flower; I experienced EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE. So it wasn't a deficit or hyperactivity. It was that I was capable of so much more than the average person. I just had to learn to tame it.
It took lots longer to tame the beast without medication and I am so enourmously happy that I did.
Do a google search on ADHD myth books. You'll find alot of information out there. Good luck in your journey.
