You Got Good Grades. But What Did It Take to Get Them?
Lindsey Peterson 
Good grades don’t always tell the whole story. Explore the hidden effort, urgency, and support that may have helped you succeed.
“But I was a good student.”
I hear this all the time from adults wondering if ADHD could be part of their story.
You got good grades. Maybe you even loved school. You weren't failing.
So wouldn't someone have noticed if you had ADHD?
Maybe. But I want to ask a different question:
What did it take for you to get those good grades?
Because grades show us the outcome.
They don't show us the process.
When you look back, I want you to think about three things:
Effort. Urgency. Scaffolding.
1. EFFORT: How hard did you have to work?
I can see this clearly when I think about writing papers in school.
I wasn't necessarily waiting until the last minute. I could plan ahead. I could sit down with plenty of time to work.
And then I'd spend three to five HOURS trying to write one paragraph.
It drove me absolutely nuts.
I had the ideas. Actually, I usually had SO MANY ideas.
But getting all those thoughts organized and turning them into clear words?
Why. Won't. The. Words. COME OUT?!
I remember getting so frustrated I wanted to hit the computer.
Eventually, I wrote the paper. I turned it in. I got the grade.
That's what everyone else saw.
They didn't see how much mental effort it took to get there.
So think about your own experience.
Were there things you were perfectly capable of doing—but they took significantly more time or effort than they seemed to take your peers?
Maybe writing wasn't yours.
Maybe it was reading. Math. Studying. Homework.
Don't just look at whether you could do it.
Look at what it took.
2. URGENCY: Did your brain need pressure before it would GO?
I can trace this one all the way back to elementary school.
I knew I could get ready for school in five minutes.
So if the bus was coming in six minutes?
Apparently, we had plenty of time. 😂
But:
“THE BUS WILL BE HERE IN FIVE MINUTES!”
GO.
Now I could get out of bed and get ready.
And this drove my mom absolutely nuts.
Why couldn't I just get up one minute earlier?!
But five minutes was the deadline my brain responded to.
Think about your own childhood.
Maybe it was studying for a spelling test. Starting a science project. Doing homework you knew about all week.
Could you get yourself to do it ahead of time?
Or did your brain seem to finally kick into gear once there was enough urgency?
Maybe you learned:
I just work better under pressure.
But it's worth asking:
Did I work better under pressure—or did pressure help me get started?
3. SCAFFOLDING: Who was helping hold everything together?
This one was a big realization for me.
I could easily look back and think:
I managed school just fine.
But then I actually looked at what was happening around me.
In high school, my mom woke me up.
Someone was coming to pick me up at a specific time.
I wore a uniform, so I didn't even have to figure out what to wear.
My mom would make me a breakfast sandwich I could grab on my way out the door.
And yes, there were absolutely mornings when my ride pulled into the driveway and I was still in bed. 😂
Yet somehow I arrived at school dressed, fed and ready to go.
I was functioning.
But I wasn't doing all of the executive functioning required to make that happen by myself.
There was scaffolding around me.
So think back.
Who woke you up?
Who remembered things for you?
Who kept track of where you needed to be?
Who made sure you had what you needed?
Who created the structure your day ran on?
Support isn't bad. We all need it.
But sometimes we look back and think:
“I functioned just fine.”
And don't realize how much structure was helping us function.
So yes. You got good grades.
That matters.
But now look underneath them.
EFFORT: How much work did it take?
URGENCY: Did you need pressure to get moving?
SCAFFOLDING: How much external structure was helping you?
Maybe you're reading this thinking:
Nope. This really wasn't my experience.
That's useful information too.
Or maybe you're thinking:
Oh damn.
I never thought about school this way.
That doesn't mean you have ADHD.
But if you've been wondering whether ADHD could explain some of what you struggle with today, looking back at what it actually took for you to function as a kid can give you important information.
And this is where a lot of adults get stuck.
Because maybe you're thinking:
“Okay...some of this is ringing a bell. But ADHD has to show up in childhood, and I still don't know how to explain what mine looked like.”
Maybe you remember getting good grades—but not much beyond that.
Maybe nobody ever raised concerns about ADHD.
Or maybe you're realizing for the first time that things you never thought were relevant might actually be worth looking at.
This is where better questions can help.
Want help looking at your own story?
If this is ringing some bells, you don't need to head down another internet rabbit hole trying to figure out whether every childhood memory was actually ADHD. That's exactly why I created Do I Have ADHD?
In the workshop, I'll walk you step-by-step through what ADHD actually is, what it can look like in everyday life, and how to reflect on your own patterns—including those childhood pieces that can be so hard to identify looking back. You'll leave with a clearer picture of whether ADHD might fit your story and whether pursuing an ADHD evaluation makes sense for you.