It’s just not that simple: you’ll not get DLA just by being a pushy parent that harasses a doctor into diagnosing a child with ADHD or ADD. It’s not like hassling a GP to give you antibiotics for a runny nose.

Of course not, but it does happen. Sometimes for more benefit, sometime for “ease of management”

mrs rkk01 has had a number of kids whom she has been able to manage effectively and positively – with the supporting professionals (educational pscyhologists, doctors etc)agreeing that diagnosis / treatment not necessary, but once they had moved on from her class / environment they ended up diagnosed and drugged up on ritalin.

can we add “and married to a SEN teacher” to the “STWers are secondhand Audi-driving, Aldi-shopping middle-aged architects” stereotype now?

Don’t like Audis 😉

In some ways, I am looking for a label (as well as some genuine help and treatment) because a label makes it easier for me to go to my employers and say “Look – I have this. It’s manageable, and I can be a good employee, but it takes some working around”.

I’m certainly not interested in benefits. The one thing I really, really want at the moment is to be a productive, creative, successful person, and a responsible friend and family member. That would be way better than any cheque (not that I’d be eligible for one).

As part of my job i assess for ADHD in children. We dont get “hassled” into diagnosis. We dont dish out meds for the fun of it. Equally ADHD medication is quite a clean drug, with little side affects and works almost instantly so you know whether it works within a day or two.
Most times we prescribe and families say thank you , what a difference in my childs presentation.
There are a lot of misconceptions around ADHD, its not just bad parenting.

16sp, now you need to quit your job and become self employed – probably an artist or something.. don’t forget to blog about it.

Speaking in my capacity as a parent of a kid diagnosed with ADHD (& Aspergers & OCD), and therefore familiar with off-the-cuff comments on ‘excuses for bad parenting’, ‘drugged up kids’, etc, I’d just like to straighten up a couple of points.

Firstly, Ritalin is not given to kids to dope them into a stupor and shut them up. It’s prescribed to iron out the hyperactivity and allow the kids to concentrate on tasks and function mentally like most other kids. Probably a poor analogy, but it’s like taking a decongestant when you’ve got a cold so you can get on with your work without the distraction of bunged up sinuses. If a kid prescribed Ritalin for ADHD is in ‘a torpor’ then it’s probably down to insomnia or exhaustion caused by the kid’s condition rather then the effects of the drug itself.

Secondly, whenever I’ve challenged people who’ve made comments on ‘excuses for bad parenting’ and ‘drugging up kids’, etc, they’ve never turned out to have any close experience with a child with ADHD, they’re just repeating what they’ve heard other people say or ‘their sister’s a teacher and reckons that 99% of cases are made up’, etc.

I’m looking forward to the day when someone I challenge ends up making me look stupid and not the other way round 😉

As for the ‘label’ aspect, before my son got his diagnosis for Aspergers (his ADHD diagnosis came later) we didn’t know what the hell was going on. The diagnosis, and, therefore, label, brought with it understanding, third party help and something we could begin to work from to make his, and our lives easier.

At the moment my son (aged 13) has had a reoccurance of severe OCD. He is tormented by the possibility of contamination from other peoples’ body fluids and imagines irrational scenarios in which members of the public have coughed or spat at him and he has contracted HIV. He’s walking around with his hood up looking like Kenny from South Park with thick wollen gloves on and exhaling loudly to blow anyone elses germs away from him. And I don’t think that’s down to bad parenting.

Right, apologies for any bad grammer and typos but I’ve got a bit of a head cold at present. I’m off to take some Lemsip and if it works within the next 15 minutes then I’ll log back in and edit out any spelling errors.

Cheers,

Rich (Parent of two well behaved kids and one with ADHD and other troubles 🙂 )

Just had to resurrect this thread. I recently got yet another “self-help” texts on the subject. One of the self-assessment questions was “Do you love bicycles?”

Holy Thread Revival Batman!

I have a seven year old just going through diagnosis at the moment. Has both ADHD and aespergers traits. We just desribe him as “quirky” when people coment or look twice at his little ways or the things he comes out with.
He alternates between the most frustrating child you could meet and one of the most rewarding when doing maths or playing piano. Can take him twenty minutes to get his shoes tied to his satisfaction. Or he can learn a peice of music i struggle to play in the same time frame.

I have ADHD. I’m actually quite bright but my life has been blighted with the condition. I’d describe my life as scattergun. Dialled Mike clocked it years ago.

I would’ve done quite an extensive write up on my personal experience with ADHD but this thread is oldddd.