What's the point of an ADHD diagnosis?

[HelpAGirlOut1234]

Just as the title says... what is actually the point if you have no intention of taking medication, or medicating your child.

Thanks. Exactly this.

Not really in employment though. It's for while they're in education. Maybe in apprenticeship I guess?

Ok I’m going to explain again for the benefit of you and @Zonder but mainly for anyone else reading this.

It is correct you don’t need a diagnosis of adhd for extra time but if the extra time relates to adhd then you do need a diagnosis of adhd.

The JCQ allows for extra time to be put in place for learning difficulties (form 8) and complex needs - this would include adhd - (form 9).

For complex needs / form 9 a diagnosis is needed and evidence of the adjustments needed.

For learning difficulties / form 8 the student must have been tested. Your child qualified for extra time due to learning difficulties not their adhd.

If your child’s setting put in place extra time for learning difficulties prior to their diagnosis and they were then medicated and didn’t need it anymore they’ve committed malpractice. And this is precisely why where there are concerns of adhd sencos should not be putting in place extra time using the learning difficulties criteria. This is all explained in detail at www.jcq.org.uk and here www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/JCQ-Overview-of-evidence-requirements-23_24-FINAL.pdf

Extra time is not the appropriate access arrangement for needing to move around and struggling to focus. Rest breaks would be the appropriate access arrangement and would need to be trialled before extra time could be considered. Please read the official guidance particularly as you’ve stated you don’t know either way. I am literally trained in this and am fully up to date on access arrangements, evidence needed and who qualifies for what. I’ve linked the guidance and explained several times now.

Only not. Because needing breaks isn’t grounds for extra time.

I appreciate you're trained in it. But these are people giving you their life experience. So are you suggesting they're lying to you?

Or is it possible that schools where you are not involved have actually done something different to you? Whether it matches the official guidance or not?

Because the word guidance doesn't mean it has to be done word for word. It's there to assist in deciding what's the best course of action. If it was regulations then you'd expect every case to have followed it to the letter. Guidance can be interpreted in different ways by different people. And regularly is.

The other posters have literally said extra time, not breaks. You are like a dog with a bone and you are wrong / not reading what people say. Go away and stop tagging any of us.

Thanks @IpsyUpsyDaisyDoos

Funnily enough I also deal with exam arrangements in my job as well as in my family so have experience of lots of schools and the JCQ guidelines in practice. This other poster doesn't have a monopoly on it despite arguing with so many of us.

It's such a shame that what was a pretty interesting thread on people's thoughts about a Dx / meds has been taken over by someone who has to win their irrelevant argument.

No. I am definitely not suggesting they’re lying. I am stating they’ve misunderstood. Both the people have outlined extra time being put in place under the learning difficulties criteria which is different to the criteria for adhd.

It is not possible the schools have done something different no - it’s literally what all schools have to do for formal examinations.

In the case of the JCQ guidance it absolutely has to be put in place - they are the regulations - please as I’ve asked look at it for yourself. If you do not adhere to the JCQ guidance it’s malpractice. It is not there to assist in making decisions, it’s a set of instructions. Schools are inspected every years to ensure that they are sticking to it.

I don’t think you can compare ADHD to a heart condition! One is life threatening and clearly needs medication, the other is a spectrum with people affected in different ways.

If people could take one tablet for life (but it caused lots of side effects) and never be overweight do you think people would sign up? Or would they continue to manage their weight using lifestyle factors such as sensible diet and exercise? Some would, but I think it would be fairly easy to see why some wouldn’t.

My 7 year old has ADHD and isn’t medicated. Instead we manage lifestyle factors to limit the impact his condition has on his wellbeing. We will do this for as long as possible before giving him medication that affects the way his brain works for a condition that isn’t life threatening. We make sure he has a health diet, is in a supportive school that understand his needs, has a calm and stable environment at home, is given processing time and space etc.

There are lots of things that can be tried before medication, such as in many other medical conditions.

I am not against medication at all, but I don’t like the statement “oh if it was xyz condition you wouldn’t think twice about medication”. Well no, maybe people wouldn’t, but that’s xyz and this is ADHD. You can’t compare.

Can you please in that case source anything that evidences that what I’ve explained here in detail is wrong. Your child qualified under learning disabilities which as you presumably know is different.

It’s weird that I’m the only one taking the time to break down the explanation and providing sources yet you’ve done neither, just keep saying I am wrong.

Because I think on a weekly basis I get people requesting extra time for their child saying they don’t need a diagnosis and not realising that they do, or formal testing. And their children won’t qualify using formal testing because they don’t have learning difficulties. It’s the absolute bane of my life. It’s so bad the JCQ is spending money producing guidance and videos for parents that people like me can send them to try and knock it on the head.

They haven't misunderstood. They are aware that their child got extra time because of an impact of the ADHD.

The first poster you corrected did state that you could get extra time for some of the symptoms of ADHD. Slow processing can be a symptom, as the more recent PP has pointed out, because of the need to move about or inability to focus.

It isn't because of ADHD. But it has been given because of something linked to ADHD. And I don't know why you're so against that being true.

And I'm not reading the guidance because my DH is 45 and therefore isn't going to benefit from extra time for academic exams, and it doesn't matter to us. If my DD needs anything, I'll read whatever the guidance is at that time for whatever she might need. She's showing no signs though.

Don’t need anything explained thank you

My child was tested by the centre assessor and the “ slow processing” was due to her ADHD . She very much qualified. If there are suspicions of ADHD and the child qualifies from the test set by the centre assessor they absolutely should be offered the extra time prior to diagnosis. They still qualify. Pretty sure others with ADHD would score low in reading, writing or processing like my daughter did given all that their brain has to cope with. Lots of children with an ADHD diagnosis don’t choose to have medication.

My dd has only recently been medicated and has not sat any exams since. She has an EHCP though and has had other diagnoses too so she will still qualify with ADHD medication. The conditions in form 8 and 9 can often overlap and children often have more than one.

The thing is that ADHD is life threatening. People don't die directly of ADHD. But people with ADHD do die in disproportionate amounts of suicide, of murder, in accidents, from drug or alcohol addiction, from illnesses linked to obesity, from living in poverty, and from illnesses that could have been treated of they'd just been organised enough to see a doctor.

Someone who craves excitement, has to put in huge amounts of effort to resist every impulse, and doesn't really have a functional concept of the future is at high risk of serious health problems.

@UnimaginableWindBird people with physical disabilities are also at increased risk of unhealthy behaviour. Lack of exercise, poor diets because they do not have the energy to cook, poor lifestyle choices to cope with pain and depression of being ill or physically disabled. These are all secondary risks. ADHD does not directly kill, just as chronic pain does not tend to directly kill you.

DSA is Disability Student Allowance OP. It can be very useful.

I’m not comparing the conditions, I’m speaking about attitudes to medication.

@Conniebygaslight The weight thing is such an incredibly bad analogy. Lifestyle factors are able to eradicate being overweight - being overweight is caused directly by lifestyle factors. This is not the case for ADHD. You cannot eradicate ADHD with ‘lifestyle factors’. There are workarounds and techniques you can use to manage elements of life you find harder and there are adaptations to make things less stressful BUT this will never eradicate ADHD. It will just mean you are coping. And all the additional cognitive and emotional energy you are using to cope and mask takes its toll and can a) affect your performance in all areas of life and b) lead to depression and burnout.

Your 7 year old, regardless of how many adaptations you have in place will still suffer from ADHD. He will still likely struggle with racing, disorganised thoughts, struggle to risk assess and control his impulses. Trying to cope without medication will be causing him stress and will be affecting him detrimentally (though may be better than the side effects he would deal with if medicating - it’s such a fine balancing act). Putting him on medication that changes the structure of his brain is t necessarily a bad thing because he has a disorder caused by the structure of his brain!

Using lifestyle factors to keep a healthy weight has no negative pay off.

Actually there are physical conditions where lifestyle changes and trying a little harder have significant impact. It is quite common after surgery to be referred to physical therapy - exercise you do in the hospital gym but also daily at home to rebuild muscle strength. Also recommended dietary changes for all sorts of conditions like T2 diabetes or heart disease with high cholesterol. Not everyone follows advice but they still have the condition that may be improved by trying harder. Maybe you also have the view that they are making their condition worse (or at least not better) and are making excuses.

You seem rather judgemental and want everyone to be perfect. Rather black/white thinking. You don't seem to see your own shitty beliefs. Have you considered you might be autistic (can you see what I did there - maybe seek a diagnosis and/or work on your prejudices).

I agree.

The meds were a game changer for me. I came off them in my teens for almost a decade and struggled much more without. I chalked it down to having entered the real world, but actually after going back on life is 1000x smoother and easier.