Chi Chi Ryan, 17, (left) teams up with senior Josh Carlson during a stress management activity for a psychology class at Proctor Academy in Andover. Classmates Ariel Sackett (far right) and Carly Dwight are behind them. Chi Chi, of Concord, is a senior at Proctor. She was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in grade school. She left the Concord school system after Rundlett Middle School to attend Proctor because of its support system for students with learning disabilities.

Chi Chi is the nickname I got from my brother when I was adopted from Brazil. It means "energetic" and "fire" in Portuguese. And that pretty much fits me. Elizabeth was too plain.

I love to be social. I'm really energetic. I'm just free-spirited.

When I was little, I guess I was a lot to handle. Third, fourth and fifth grade at Rumford Elementary was really hard for me. I was always known as a hyper child 'cause I had so much energy and I couldn't focus on any one thing. It was really hard for me to get in sync with the class and what everyone else was doing. Sometimes it was stressful for my teachers.

My mind is jumbled. All I want to do is focus, but I can't because my mind is so scattered. I'll be doing my homework, and I'll read a paragraph and then drift off. I focus on everything else but what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm impulsive.

When I was younger, my parents would give me homeopathic remedies. They'd put drops under my tongue, and that was supposed to calm me down. But as I got older, they looked into more things. In fifth or sixth grade, I started taking meds. I started on Ritalin. It didn't really help me focus. I went through Concerta, Strattera, Adderall and Ritalin. The side effects just didn't go well. When I was on meds, I'd be like, "I hate people," and I was really anti-social. I'd find myself angry. I just didn't feel like myself. On Concerta, I would become like an OCD organized freak. I'd organize all my books when I was supposed to be doing my homework. Meds never fit well for me.

My parents pretty much made me go to Proctor, and I was angry about it at first. I was happy with the friends I had, and I'm not someone who likes change. They researched schools, to see what would be the best fit for me. I think Concord High School was too big. I'm sure Concord High is a great school, but I'm really glad my parents made me come to Proctor. I clicked with everyone.

Everyone at Proctor knows about my ADHD. It's not a big deal here. Organization was a big problem here at first, and balancing out my social life and schoolwork. The learning center here helps you organize your week. You have a planner, and you put all the homework into your planner for the week. My learning skills teacher, Ellen, makes me a schedule two weeks ahead.

Classes never go above 10 or 15 students here. The teachers can give individual attention to every student, and it's small enough so they don't get overwhelmed.

I've taught myself, through meditation and breathing, to focus. The meds go all day, and I don't need that focus all day. I just need it for the time I'm in school and when I'm doing my homework. I stopped meds last year spring term. And I haven't started them up this year.

My parents didn't think it was a good idea, but last term, I made honor roll.

I can't just sit there and have a teacher lecture me and just taking notes all the time. I just space out. But if I get involved, hands on, I love it. Which is what this school is really about, hands-on learning. I'm taking a class right now, wildlife science, and we go outside most of the time, track animals. I went to Spain last year, instead of just being in a Spanish class. They have a mountain classroom, an ocean classroom. I had an astronomy class, and we'd go out at 9 o'clock at night. Now, I put my energy into things that are useful, like art or sports. I go to the gym every day. (next page »)