Do many people think that ADHD is not real?

[Ilovecranberries]

Was having remote drinks with a friend and his wife yesterday. She's a secondary school teacher in a quite "rough" school (not in the UK). I was quite surprised when, discussing something quite abstract about how different people think and react differently, she had said quite breezily that the majority of teachers she knows "don't believe" in the existence of ADHD.
Incidentally, one of my children is currently being assessed for it, but it is not news that I had shared socially outside of my immediate family. I wasn't offended, but I wonder if it is actually a widespread view behind the closed doors?

I believe ADHD is absolutely a real condition, but I also believe it is over-diagnosed.

I do remember reading something when DC were small that the diagnosis considers the behaviour alongside the quality of the parenting I.e. you'd get an ADHD diagnosis only if the behaviour was worse than would be expected considering the parenting.

I think it does exist but firm boundaries etc do help.

@MrsZola it's just ASD now not autism and Aspergers. And NO ADHD is not a part of that spectrum! Please do your research!!

I'd like to invite anyone who doesn't believe it's real to take on my son when he's unmedicated - he has high-functioning autism and OCD as well.

"ADHD is part of the autistic spectrum in the same way that Asperger's Syndrome is."

@MrsZola

No it's not.

ADHD and autism are two separate conditions. It is now known that there is often a lot of overlap with symptoms but it wasn't long ago that it wasn't permitted to diagnose people with both ADHD and autism as it was thought that you couldn't have both.

I know a few teachers as friends. Never known any of them to not believe it exists but have said it is massively over diagnosed...a fair few are parents self diagnosis and the common factor with them is children with no boundaries or discipline. They have said before that a child with ADHD or autism does stand out to teachers and becomes more obvious

Im intrigued why people think its over diagnosed. Ive worked in a school (doing admin for the senco) for 7 years now and only seen a tiny number with a diagnosis.

My advice, and I mean this kindly, is to develop a thick skin because if your child is diagnosed you will hear all sort of opinions, "facts" (myths), judgements, and so-called cures before you're done.
I think I already started realising this. To be honest, so far I have been only researching the topic myself, filling in the forms and various questionnaires for the assessment team and haven't discussed with anyone. The school has been nothing but supportive so far (they actually referred DC themselves and were a great help with the paperwork etc). Of course, we had our share of stares and comments due to the poor behaviour outside (the lockdown, to my great surprise, led to a massive improvement in many aspects).

@GnomeOrMistAndIceGuy

Primary leader here. ADHD absolutely, 100% exists. I've had some heartbreaking conversations with tearful children who have been sent out of the room for the 20th time, trying to explain that their brain will just not shut up. However, I have also seen children diagnosed with ADHD who, in my opinion, are suffering from poor parenting and few boundaries at home. I have had several parents angry with me because I wouldn't 'tell the doctor what he's like' when I simply can't, because their child's behaviour at school is excellent. During lockdown, we have had a disproportionately high number of parents wanting to discuss the possibility of their children having ADHD. Worrying to hear of teachers casually stating the condition does not exist, but I can see why they might feel that way.

Senco here. Of course it exists, for different causes. Early childhood trauma, inadequate parenting, ASD can all be linked to ADHD. It often runs in families, especially when the cause is childhood trauma/ parenting as all siblings within the family will probably be subjected to this too. IME, medication has a limited effect on some children if it's as a result of trauma or parenting, unless the parenting changes significantly. The meds just temporarily mute their behaviours for a short time. I've only seen a small handful of students respond positively to meds, and they also had a diagnosis of ASD with very supportive families. The crucial thing to understand is that meds arentbthe solution, a complete change in approach to supporting students with ADHD is needed. Schools that tend to be one size fits all places struggle to deal with challenging behaviours whereas those with a more holistic approach are more effective.

My son was 10 when he was diagnosed with ADHD (he was 6 at the time of autism diagnosis). By this point his quality of life, and ours, had suffered terribly.

I think the problem is it’s overused, particularly on children that come from chaotic households. So children who may not have been taught appropriate behaviour (boundaries, social skills, impulse control) are then labelled as such by their parents who can’t accept that it is their parenting that is the issue.

No, the issue is, it’s much easier for people to blame parents as bad parents than to accept that actually we are badly failing children by not taking mental health problems seriously. The issue is, people like to feel smug and judgemental when they see what they perceive as poorly behaved children. The issue is HCPs and Teachers already judge those chaotic households so the parents have to fight and fight for diagnosis.

I believe in it but think it's sometimes wrongly diagnosed. Diagnosis is more prevalent in summer born children, suggesting that sometimes kids judged by the yardstick of children older than them get mislabelled as having ADHD, when in fact they're just young.

Due to failings of CAMHS, his medical care for ADHD and OCD are privately provided.

Honestly when I was younger I thought it was poor parenting. Even when I was in school I remember the class having a discussion and the teacher pretty much telling the class it doesn't exist it is poor parenting.

Now I have experience from working in schools and know of people with the condition I have completely changed my mind.

ADHD is a very stigmatized condition. It can destroy the person's life and those that are caring for them.

It is often genetic and associated with negative behaviour attributes such as impulsivity. Due to it's nature it is often passed down in families which explains why many children with ADHD are from lower socio economic backgrounds because of the traits associated with it are unlikely to lead to those people being higher earners. They then go on to have a higher chance of having children with these same issues and so the cycle continues.

People think ADHD is used to excuse the poor parenting associated with socio economic situation. In reality low socio economic status is often a result of this disability being passed down through families.

I feel horrendous for those who live with such a debilitating condition everyday but instead of getting any empathy the world labels them as lazy, unreliable, aggressive ECT. It must feel a pretty hopeless world having expectations set upon you and people not understanding that you can't not won't meet them.

MrsZola ADHD and autism are not the same condition. They are both neurodevelopmental conditions and often co-morbid, but the diagnostic criteria are very different and the DSM is clear that they are separate conditions.

I'm a psychologist. My son has ADHD. Part of the debate about whether ADHD exists in professional circles is because of differing ontological views. Its a philosophical divide. It's clearly not an thing' in the same way as a lamp, a dog or a pebble are a thing. There are no physical tests ( brain scans, blood tests) that can predict whether a child shows the cluster of symptoms associated with ADHD and no clear causal pathway. It's strongly associated with genetics, but sometimes also environmental factors ( eg trauma). At best, at present it's a description of a cluster of behaviours, mostly associated with executive skills that we know to be ameliorated by certain drugs and (possibly to a lesser extent, much to the chagrin of my esteemed colleagues) therapeutic and educational interventions. My son shows pretty classic ADHD behaviours and so it's useful for us to think in those terms in order to understand how to help him, but I do understand ( If not agree) with the philosophical perspective of professionals ( psychologists and psychiatrists, not just ignorant randomers) who argue it's not helpful to determine it as 'a thing'.

@CuriousaboutSamphire

An ex teacher here. It does exist but is also used by some to excuse poor behaviour. That leads to some people believing it is all just an excuse.

Sadly there are many kids who would benefit from early diagnosis to teach them coping skills that they and everyone around them could use.

I've seen older children literally bouncing off the walls and privately asked 'How is it that child has not at least been assessed for the condition?'. sometimes the answer is 'The parents have decided that labelling x is inacceptable and they are not to know they have a diagnosis', and sometimes the answer is 'Waiting times for assessment' and sometimes 'They were told that there was nothing wrong and it was just bad behaviour/parenting'.

And conversely, I've met some kids whose parents couldn't possibly accept that their child's behaviour was in any way related to their inadequacies/an unsafe home/acting out and sought to medicalise their kid for not being the Perfect Child they are so certain they deserve.

It's clear as day that the condition exists. You only have to see a child who is normally alert, calm and able to be guided back on task relatively easily on a day where their morning meds have been missed or when they've grown so much that their usual dose isn't enough anymore to see that.

And it's easy to see that those who fall through the gaps suffer as a result - if others weren't trying to absolve themselves of responsibility, though, maybe there wouldn't be so many gaps in the first place.

The one thing I would say is having taught in a rough school Some parents know how to play the system - which really annoys me as it detracts money and time from genuine need.
In the country where she teaches I think the inclusive education is in it's infancy (usually pupils with any difficulties are taught in specialised schools). So in her case it might be just the lack of exposure to severe cases.

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325595

because their child's behaviour at school is excellent.

This is the best example of how teaching staff just don’t get it.

Everyone knows all children behave differently at home than at school. DD is NT, and when I tell teachers how she is at home, they smile and sympathise and tell me everyone behaves better at school. They don’t judge me, or tell me I’m lying, or suggest I am a bad parent. And yet, the very same teachers deny my friend’s suggestion that her son melts down as soon as he gets home. They tell her outright that she must be doing something wrong if that is actually happening. They refuse to give him support at school because there just isn’t any evidence of any problem. Her word isn’t as good as mine, because she has a non NT child. Why is that?

DS was recently diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive type - what was ADD) and I've had this reaction from a few people. It's hard because I absolutely did not go looking for this diagnosis.

I had an evaluation done because I wasn't happy with some of his behaviours and I wanted to rule out there being an underlying cause before I came down hard on behaviour issues (I was concerned he was playing us). I never suspected ADHD but now it's been said it absolutely fits.

Still I struggle with the fact that he basically has a diagnosis which a lot of people are as just a way to excuse bad parenting. I've stopped telling people now.

I have ADHD...unfocused inattentive type which is more usual for girls and women. I don’t take any medication but I do use lists extensively to keep myself on top of things.

My son was diagnosed with autism aged 7 and ADHD six months later. He had medication for several years and it was a game changer in terms of school work, he caught up with his peers and did well.

I strongly suspect my biological father has ADHD as he indulged in sone very risky behaviours as a young man. Hence my Mum and he split up.

It’s real, it exists and ignore anyone who dismisses it....unless it’s your child’s teacher (unlikely) . My son only coped in school thanks to his teachers I never heard anyone say “ADHD doesn’t exist”.

I have it - not diagnosed but sure I do. I was at school in the 60s/70s and it was not recognised. My inability to concentrate was put down to laziness and lack of effort. Hyperfocus is also a feature of adult ADD - getting so engrossed in a task that you lose track of everything that is going on around you. I'm retired now but this was a big issue when I was working.