To think that not everyone has ADHD

Well Said.

Twinsmummy1812

What an appallingly ignorant and ableist post.

@Namddf
I agree, my husband has had a tic since he was a child, it gets worse with any elevated emotions whether it's sadness, anger, excitement. He knows he has adhd but there's nothing anyone can do about it and no cure other then to manage his stress levels.
Our eldest daughter has also inherited some of his characteristics such as periods of intense excitability and difficulties with her reading over the years as well as being an absolute handful growing up. She's now nearly 18 and I still have to care for her quite a bit, help her understand things and organise herself. I only noticed it more when her younger sister who's 13 grew up and I realised she didn't need support in the same way and just got on with things.

I know some poor little bugger close to me, who was told he was autistic from a young age. Always thinking he's different...to be tested, and no, he's not autistic. Mum still says otherwise. Desperate for a 'label'. Those sorts of people need their heads testing. I just don't get it. Quite damaging.

It's a scientific fact that they overlap and frequently occur together. There are so many papers out there discussing this. Try googling
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11920-019-1020-5

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6331660/

QueenCamilla

Err because there is a huge overlap. How on earth have you got a diagnosis without knowing this. Like many my daughter and I were put forward for an ADHD diagnosis after our ASC threw up markers from the overlap.

Exactly this. Knowledge is power. ASD/ADHD is notoriously undiagnosed in women, especially in this age group. Historically diagnosis has centred around male presentations. It has oft being diagnosed as depression, or worse, in women, due to lack of understanding from both practitioner and patient. The understanding of neurological conditions has advanced/is still advancing, as is public awareness. Social media offers an outlet and access to information that these women did not have growing up. (Pre internet kids!) If a woman or anyone reads a thread and something clicks that encourages them to seek support from their GP well bravo.

Threads like this just add to the prevalence of misconceptions. Especially abhorrent comments about attention seeking labels and seeking diagnosis for benefits. People need to perhaps educate themselves before the spread their ignorance.

Honestly, do people not jnderstsnd how much we know about ADHD and other ND conditions.. it's not a.subjective guessing game...

It has become a bit of a joke diagnosis in schools, you can basically get the diagnosis out of a vending machine. Lots of MC parents just buy the diagnosis, and the number on the school roll goes up and up, and meanwhile, the children who are actually disabled with ADHD are actually the least likely to get a diagnosis, as their parents dont have the resources or the organisation to get one through the NHS.

So what we have to do in schools is stop using the diagnosis as criteria for allocation of support and resources, and instead use describing the needs of the child as the basis for deciding how to support them, meaning students with a diagnosis of ADHD are less likely to get support for ADHD type problems than children without a diagnosis.

People on mumsnet often describe their newly diagnosed "ADHD" without any apparent awareness that the issues they are describing, procrastination, poor organisation, distractibility, etc, are perfectly normal, average human experiences.

It is all very well calling posters like the OP "ableist" but they are the exact opposite of ableist - it is the people appropriating the ADHD diagnosis that are being ableist.

It is a serious disability. It cannot be "masked". It does impact on your educational outcomes. All these non disabled people claiming to have it are disadvantaging genuinely disabled sufferers hugely

100%.

From another frustrated mum who is appalled by people jumping on the bandwagon after a few Tik Toks.

“a confused adult with all sort of self regulation issues”

would not get an adhd diagnosis.

Well said. Couldn't agree more.

You're misinformed. It can be masked. You can have layers of very carefully constructed reminders alerts, methods and strategies to mask it. It's exhausting. Absolutely exhausting. This is why ADHD burnout is a thing.

A key test in the diagnostic process is the QB test. It is a computer based test which measures a range of stas about eye movement in different tasks, informing us about brain activity.
You can't accidentally get a diagnosis because you get benefits or are a single parent etc.
In reality chaotic families and deprived groups are overrepresented because ADHD is hereditary. Without support it can lead to impulsiveness and poor decision making.. leading to a poor quality of life.
Hence the importance of diagnosis and post diagnostic support.
This place feels more like the daily mail by the day.

Sidslaw

Hate to burst your bubble but it absolutely can be masked. My NHS diagnostician discussed that at length with me as I masked it for 55 years.

I think lots of people like me get diagnosis after our children get diagnosis , hence why so many late diagnosis

Ahem.
This is awful.
Hysterical, but awful.
Please go study instead of putting forward misinformed generalisations about something you know nothing about.

It's the new cute "quirk".

Remember circa 2005 when every other person was "borderline" (massively detracting from the very real struggles of people who actually do have BPD?). This is the 2023 model.

In 2040 you won't hear about it anymore, it will have moved on to something else.

I also think it has something to do with basically being prescribed speed. There are a hell of a lot of people on meds in this country.

Obviously it goes without saying there are people who actually do have ADHD and need medication.

There's nothing cute about ADHD. Are you on glue?

Nope. No they're not. Please educate yourself.

@Scatterbrainbox I do agree it can be genetic. It can also be the result of dad using drugs 3-4 months before baby is conceived.
Im not ignorant to the facts. I've worked in mental health so know the wide range of causes and factors involved. I've also seen people who display ADHD behaviour/have diagnosis completely recover after therapy, thus proving their issues were most likely caused by childhood trauma.

Is it? I have absolute and complete sympathy for posters and friends who are struggling so hard and have been for years. They have tried their best and every step is a battle for them and their child/ren. Then there are young children who are just really badly parented and are frankly a nightmare to be around and you know that they are going to be trouble at school etc because they don’t have boundaries and don’t listen to adults. The first have children with extra needs and need help, the second let their child down in the first place and would welcome an undiagnosed adhd label as it exempts their poor parenting.

How am I being ableist?

I agree. Everyone seems to want a label and there is a lot of self diagnosis.
The amount of people who claim to be OCD is another one.