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?

dadshere
Are horribly unaware or just being offensive?

100 years ago children with additional needs were shipped off to institutions
100 years ago it was considered acceptable to beat children into submission
100 years ago neurodiverse children found themselves branded stupid, given a humiliating hat to wear and were made to sit in the corner

Views like yours are exactly why some families find life harder.

@dadshere Either you are goady, or a total fuckwit or both.

With the iq of a pencil. Not 20 years ago people like you were called 'retarded'.

Read the fucking thread.

Thanks for the reports about this thread.

In going through and removing posts breaking our Talk Guidelines, we've noticed that many of the deletions have been for disablist posts.

Do take a look at our This Is My Child Campaign especially the Myths about Special needs and consider the challenges many parents of children with disabilities, or who have disabilities themselves, face on a daily basis.

Mumsnet exists to make parent's lives easier and if there's one thing we could all do with, it's some understanding and moral support.

Well-done mumsnet for once more stifling debate. Having a different opinion suddenly becomes taboo, many doctors have similar opinions about many of today's 'conditions'

@Vodkacranberryplease

Someone needs to let all the professionals in the field know, particularly those in research that the show is over, a fuckwit with keyboard diarrhoea has just solved it, turns out it was just naughty boy syndrome and weak parenting after all. Fantastic work @dadshere.

Well-done mumsnet for once more stifling debate
There's no debate being stifled, unless you're getting upset that disablist posts are being deleted because they are offensive.

For example, your deleted post blamed crap parenting for ADHD. Blaming parents for their children having additional needs isn't about debate. It's just being intolerant and offensive.

@TrainspottingWelsh I know. I just love the fact that this tool appears not to have read a single post on the thread. It's got to be a mumsnet record!

Been at the shandy I should think.

Well-done mumsnet for once more stifling debate. Having a different opinion suddenly becomes taboo, many doctors have similar opinions about many of today's 'conditions'

Would you put 'epilespy' or 'diabetes' or 'blindness' in commas with the unwritten implication that they're not real? No? Then don't fucking do it with neurodevelopmental conditions. Note - conditions, not 'conditions'.

As for "stifling debate" you sounds like those people who think its 'political correctness gorn mad' because they can no longer make racist/sexist/disablist comments without being called out on how inappropriate and hateful such comments are. Bloody modern life, eh? Can't even be a bigot these days without people whinging...

Let's not jump to conclusions @Vodkacranberryplease. You know how those of us with adhd can sometimes read something and completely understand it, but not actually take any of it in? Well nt people with the fuckwit label can sometimes read things, but not understand or take it in because they are fuckwits. I blame the parents.

Well nt people with the fuckwit label can sometimes read things, but not understand or take it in because they are fuckwits. I blame the parents

They're just looking for a convenient label to give them an excuse for not towing the line and to get access to all the perks they hand out to fuckwits nowadays. It's a modern thing, there were no fuckwits back in my day yet now? Fuckwits everywhere.

Yes @KittyFantastico, wanting to drug their dc with Imodium when a good old fashioned 'stop spouting shit' would do the trick.

I hear that keeping them off the internet can help, screentime exacerbates it.

Yes but they'd just claim some 'ism' and demand equal rights to the internet. Pc gone mad, nobody demanded equality 100yrs ago.

I know! Next they will be doing brain scans showing fuckwittedness is a real thing!

Like that other one, adhd.

Oh wait, they have already done those for ADHD I think I saw it mentioned earlier in this thread.

@dadshere I think you definitely get the award for most dim witted pathetic post ever.

Read the fucking thread arsehole

The poor ignorant attitude to ADHD makes me furious amongst general public. These kids are in a minority who need backup to get through a school day with lack of support. They struggle to achieve and more often than is reasonable do not get identified in the school until too late.....Kids in "rough" areas may not have pushy parental support to get diagnosed as in th e "lovely" areas. Its a prejudice to say it does not exist.

I have it as does my daughter. I was diagnosed age 40
It was life changing and the medication has been a revelation. I only wish that it had been diagnosed when I was younger. I have a degree that I passed age 21 with a serious amount of struggle. I still come across people who are extremely dismissive of it.

to add, my daughter is now medicated by her own choice and in one year she went from reading reception age books to harry potter.

The church of scientology have created a lot of mistruths and caused an awful lot of issues for those with ADHD

It absolutely exists. However, there are many factors that can enhance the traits of this. Poorly balanced diet, inconsistency in discipline. I’m sure most parents have gone through diet, exercise, parenting manuals etc.; I have known some to completely disregard advice and offers of support. I’ve also had to give a “Whoops, steady there young man!” to a young boy who crashed through our picnic in a park a few summers ago. His mam yelled across “HE’S GOT ADHD!” (which the family share bag of bright orange Doritos in his fist had absolutely no affect on, of course!).

@Emmelina equally there are people with it whose parent had it, who were brought up without junk food, who had plenty of exercise and fresh air, no screens. And who have found that eating sweets makes fuck all difference.

Those people are always thrilled to hear the opinions of those who believe that 'of course it's real, however'

Those people think 'why don't you just fuck off'

OK, I'll bite ....

@Emmelina
What kind of advice and offers of support have been disregarded by parents of children with ADHD?

Really very interested here ....

Well @AhBallix obviously its to set rules! To have boundaries! And consequences! No junk food. Limit screen time.

You know, the usual shit that everyone thinks is wildly original.

Sadly some believe it’s not real.

And as a parent of adhd dc I do understand why parents are often blamed.

Unfortunately adhd has genetic components and I admit as parents we have not been ideal/perfect parents.

Dh does has adhd and it manifests with irregular sleep, hyperactivity and disorganisation with prioritising tasks. I also believe I have some aspects but am undiagnosed. I feel overwhelm and anxiety most of the time and often feel an inability to organise myself.

So the 2 of us are often 10 steps behind our hyperactive/impulsive dc!

Also it does not help that our dc need little sleep (they never appear tired!) and have always been like this. I know friends who have had dc who have gone to sleep for years at 7pm. Mine never have, despite years of implementing routines and sleep hygiene plans. So means we have much less time away from our dc to fill our own cups and read parenting books and research other methods to help our dc. As a result we just follow what the professionals say and we do our very best. So please try not to judge.

I actually saw people (online) saying ADHD was made up and at first I was shocked but honestly there's people out there who think corona virus is a hoax and that animals don't have feelings so I'm not sure why I am surprised. People have some weird ideas.

"No validated diagnostic test exists to confirm the clinical diagnosis.

It is a complex neurodevelopmental constellation of problems rather than a single disorder. The core symptoms are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. These are also, however, normal behavioural traits present in unaffected children. "
Evidence and belief in ADHD : Informed decisions on stimulants must be based on studies with good methodology
Morris Zwi, Paul Ramchandani, Carol Joughin
BMJ. 2000 Oct 21; 321(7267): 975–976. doi: 10.1136/bmj.321.7267.975

No validated diagnostic test exists to confirm the clinical diagnosis. Pretty simple to understand for the hard of thinking, hand-wringing brigade.