I think you misunderstand me. We get coping mechanisms but understanding them, what they are and why they happen makes a world of difference. Which you get from being diagnosed. But getting better from them isn't always about medication, it can be about developing those natural mechanisms further and supplementing them with other stuff, like my little notepad I mentioned. Exercises like that, that help with memory and focus and whatnot. That's what I was getting at.

Yeah, this sounds like what I was told by one doc I asked for an ADHD evaluation from, he told me I couldn't have ADHD because I didn't flunk outta high school (which he said without even checking if that was true). And that if I did have ADHD I would've struggled before adulthood and my parents would've gotten me care. Like oh, you mean the parents that ignored that I had pinkeye for two weeks and then lied to the doctor that it was two days? Or the parents that sent me back to school against surgeons orders? Or the parents who sent me to school knowing I had a fever? Oh, how about the ones that ignored I couldn't bend my knee for an entire week after injuring it until it was gonna affect my grades?

I don't think it works for anyone. Yes, you can work on coping skills without a diagnosis, but it won't make you NT.