ADHD - getting diagnosis

[Socal2018]

Hello,

I am looking for some advice as to getting an ADHD diagnosis. Our DD is 5 and in Y1. She has always been very active, showing signs of fidgetting, not sitting still and not listening. We mentioned this at several instances at preschool and in her reception year and were told that she would grow out of it.

Unfortunately, it seems that the potential ADHD is now interfering with her performance at school. She seems to be performing much worse at school (where she struggles with noise and distraction during assessment situations) than at home. Her school is insisting that it's not a problem because she is working at the expected level.

However, we think that she could be doing much better if her school paid more attention to her learning needs. In quiet situations she reads green/ orange books with ease but her teacher is not letting her progress because she has not shown the same performance at school. When she is not distracted she confidently knows number facts to 100 but the school insists that she should work on number facts to 10.

We're worried that getting bored does not help with her lack of motivation at school. Is the only way out getting an official ADHD diagnosis? We've had numerous conversations with teachers but don't seem to be getting anywhere.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[OhTheRoses]

Teachers are not clinicians. Clinicians won't get involved if teacher's aren't concerned.

As a mother You know your child best. If you can't pay you will have to be a very squeaky wheel. Put everything in writing and ve a very skilled advocate.

If you can pay, that will help greatly. Your dd will get assessed by properly and suitably qualified drs rather than teachers and nurses.

[Socal2018]

Thanks, that's a good point. I think we might look into getting a private diagnosis.

[B335]

Hello

I’ve been fighting the same battle for around 5 years now for my son who is 8. I’m constantly taking him to the doctors who can’t do anything because it’s school who have to refer, yet they won’t because they don’t see the same as I do. He has been seen by a paediatrician who said no to adhd just because school didn’t see any signs of it but yet if it had been based on what I told her she would of said yes definitely adhd. He is diagnosed with learning disabilities and is not at the level he should be at school. The doctors have wrote to the school asking to be referred again but they still won’t. I feel my only option is to go private aswell

[KingLooieCatz]

I spoke to the GP on the phone and got a referral for a CAMHS assessment. After a screening assessment we had a couple of appointments with a CAMHS consultant, supplied her with all school reports etc up to that point, completed a questionnaire and got a diagnosis. CAMHS had told us they might need to observe at school but in the end the school weren't contacted at all. The whole process took almost a year though!

A couple of thoughts, just as a parent and stranger on the internet, the abilities children display in school often lag behind what they display at home.

As a PP said, school won't diagnose or attempt to diagnose. I had some luck rooting around on the internet for the council and local health board guidelines and processes for supporting additional needs. There's a NICE pathway for ADHD.

Part of DS's assessment was considering his behavior in different settings.

On the bright side, the new school just managed the behavior regardless of diagnosis and by the time Ds got the diagnosis he had already massively improved. He is not on medication and doesn't have additional support at school but is enjoying school and achieving in ways that we couldn't have dreamt of a couple of years ago. His teachers have said the diagnosis has been useful just to understand that he genuinely has a hard time conforming and needs a bit of extra help and patience.

All the best with it - we had some pretty dark days when I would have tried anything if I thought it would help DS. He's a happy wee thing enjoying school now and we're no longer an active case for CAMHS.