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Original poster

"Where were all the kids with ADHD 40 years ago then?"

242 replies

colditz · 19/05/2010 19:29

Help me to answer my dad, who has delivered a fantastically ignorant diatribe (mainly along the lines of Ds1 "can't possibly be autistic, he's always smiling at me. He's a happy boy Colditz, he's not Autistic") but he has raised a point I can't answer.

Where were the children with ADHD 40 years ago?

Where were the children with High Functioning Autism?

According to him, and many people in their 50s, there WAS no ADHD, or CERTAINLY there wasn't in their school .... so ... where were they?

OP posts:
posieparker · 19/05/2010 20:30

Is it possible that ADHD is a new condition(sorry of wrong terminology) because some things are 'modern' with 'modern' causes, even if we don't know it.

CarGirl · 19/05/2010 20:32

TheBreastMilk - is that yet again because our education system favours girls I wonder? Dreamy is acceptable, hyper not?

5inthebed · 19/05/2010 20:32

Fibilou, while I appreciate where you are coming from, getting a dx for ADHD/ASD/Autism is hard to get and very lengthy. They don't just sit you down, ask you a few questions and say "From what you've said, your DC has ADHD".

Most children behave better for other people, hell my DS2 (autistic) doesn't do half the things he usually does when he is with his 1:1. Doesn't mean they don't happen.

minxofmancunia · 19/05/2010 20:33

v v possible cargirl lots of girls get missed, (see me post further down). School only pesters for referral with "problem kids" usually boys!

TheBreastmilksOnMe · 19/05/2010 20:35

Minx- here, here. I am exactly the same and I am waiting to be assessed by the menatl health team. I would love to see what a difference taking medication would make to my world but I feel as though I've got a fight on my hands. Have you been diagnosed?

minxofmancunia · 19/05/2010 20:38

Try this iwastoearlytobeayummymummy [http://www.aadd.org.uk/index.html]]

menopausemad · 19/05/2010 20:39

Malt - I suspect you did not mean harm but it is like saying all Blacks are animals because one that you knew was a shit!

Reckon you need to keep such prejudices out of this otherwise fascinating thread.

My middle lad; ADHD or an extremely 'unable to sit boy'? Eldest lad has Asperger's instead of being treated as 'handicapped' he has been nurtured and shows every sign of being extraordinarily able - when he gets to Uni where he hopes to do Engineering!!!!!!

The difference is, he has been nurtured rather than pigeon holed. Middle lad - well the jury is still out on that one!

minxofmancunia · 19/05/2010 20:39

try again! www.aadd.org.uk/index.html

ThatVikRinA22 · 19/05/2010 20:41

i think there are also studies that have shown very many people in prison have undiagnosed "hidden" disabilities.

40 years ago these people were children. they existed, it was just pot luck as to how it all turned out for them.

autism runs in our family. my son has aspergers. my gran had it, she faired very well because of her special talent - she was a gifted tailor - you draw it - shed make it, and charged for her services to make a living.

my half brother has it. he ended up on heroin.

my uncle has it. he is a physicist who cannot cope with real life.

people existed with these conditions - they just went undiagnosed.

troublewithtalk · 19/05/2010 20:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

minxofmancunia · 19/05/2010 20:46

No thebreastmilksonme only unofficially by my supervisor at work and by working with children with ADHD who's parents often clearly have it too! Some of the Mums can literally talf a mile a minute and flit flit flit from subject to subject>

It's "burnt out" a bit with me, but the whole struggling to make friends ending up in unsuitable relationships thing was so true for me.

I'm a mental health nurse which is of course an esteemed job but TBH the coursework was easy for me i could do it quickly and passed easily. I was also good at the job, particularly the 2rapid fire" aspect of working on a psychiatric in patient acute ward, I was great at dealing with a series of crises! This job (CAMHS) os tough for me because it's an endless series of intense 1:1 appointments with families and hour and hours of bloody admin. I'm seriously thinking of going back to the wards.

I "should" have been a clinical psychologist but I couldn't have written a thesis or done research no way so that particular ship has passed me by unfortunately.

iwastooearlytobeayummymummy · 19/05/2010 20:52

thanks Minx

TopsyKretts · 19/05/2010 21:01

Colditz- I wasn't asking for a comprehensive explanation, just some clarification of your OP which seems to conflate the terms and confuse the issue.

I have a relative with severe, low functioning autism, and she is not helped by people assuming that her needs are just the same as 'hyperactive' children. I am no expert on the terminolgy, but I think there is a lot of confusion on Mumsnet from what I see.

borderslass · 19/05/2010 21:01

dd2 has borderline ADHD but of the inattentive type, we fought to get her diagnosed as school didn't see a problem, this was a girl that never finished classwork and took 5 hours to do 5 sentences of homework flitting back and forth when I told them that then they listened but not enough, I had to go direct to my sons doctor [he has severe ADHD, asd and complex learning disabilities]
my nephew supposedly has it but he spent his childhood being shouted at for everything, 2 of her boys went to live with their father at 10 and the difference with some proper discipline was amazing and they are lovely young men now. my sister 'knew' he had it at 18 months because he never sat still their not meant to sit still at that age.

chesgirlNOTgriffins · 19/05/2010 21:10

In the 80s I worked in a long stay hospital in Surrey.

I worked in the grounds with visiting groups from local schools. It was my best job ever, taking children riding. There were a LOT of special needs schools in the area at that time.

Anyhoo. I used to go in and out of the hospital quite a lot and got to know many of the residents.
The place was full of people who would now be classed as fairly high functioning autistic, mild to moderate learning difficulties, people with epilepsy, Deaf people, people with depression etc as well as the now grown up children of single mothers. I was very young with limited experience of disability but even I could see those people should not have been put in that place.

They were all pretty elderly by then and the hosptial was closed a few years later. It used to be a workhouse then an asylum then a long stay hospital. Now its an estate of 700k executive homes.

CarGirl · 19/05/2010 21:12

Is that the one near Epsom?

MaryBS · 19/05/2010 21:12

I have Aspergers and am 43. I was only diagnosed 18 months ago. Many adults, like myself are now coming forward for diagnosis (or choosing not to be formally diagnosed) only as a result of their children being diagnosed - I recognised my son's traits in myself and how I was as a child.

Can't vouch for ADHD...

Original poster
colditz · 19/05/2010 21:17

My point is that I'M no expert either.

And my child's needs are not helped by people assuming I know absolutely everything abouyt autism and ADHD

Actually, as Ds1 has been diagnosed with both, I'm NOT very sure which b4ehavior is caused by autism and which is caused by ADHD. Only that my child has both and my father doesn't believe in either - he just thinks I'm a shit parent.

OP posts:
chesgirlNOTgriffins · 19/05/2010 21:18

It was St Lawrences in Caterham Cargirl.

I loved my time there because I loved the ponies and working with the kids. But the hospital was still very much a Victorian asylum.

Awful to think that some of the residents had gone in there as tiny children.

Gigantaur · 19/05/2010 21:25

@ Maltesers.
Think you were very restrained GS

someone ought to tell her you don't inherit ADHD either.

You would think that someone who claims to have a child with the condition would be a little better informed.

TheBreastmilksOnMe · 19/05/2010 21:26

Gigantaur- There is a genetic link with ADHD.

HousewifeOfOrangeCounty · 19/05/2010 21:26

I know a child who had ADHD 40 years ago, he was known as 'hyperactive' 'difficult' and 'soppy' - I was his older sister. My Mum didn't know how to deal with him and was a single parent for most of his life. I just knew that he was a 'nightmare', but then he was my little brother, so I was bound to find him annoying.

I can't tell you how many times my Mum had meetings at school about him or how many times I was embarrassed while he had a 'tantrum' in the middle of the street.

We're not that close, but both Mum and I have agreed that if he were a child now that's what he be diagnosed with. As an adult he's not the most high achieving bloke, but is very happy and placid - in fact if anything a little boring. He has a long term girlfriend and is pretty happy just coasting along in life so it all turned out ok in the end.

thestripeyhorse · 19/05/2010 21:27

This thread has been enlightening for me. I have a friend whose little boy I think has something like ADHD, he is a lovely boy but seems unable to control his behaviour in terms of hitting/kicking, he constantly seeks attention from my (older) DS, can be quite manic in behaviour and laughter, runs around constantly has problems sleeping etc.

Anyway, I don't think his parents see it at all and reading some of the posts above I think that possibly both parents may have it too. I would love to be able to talk to my friend about it but fear that she would not take kindly to it.

Very interesting thread.

Gigantaur · 19/05/2010 21:30

yes but its hardly like having red hair and expecting your children to have it too.

TheBreastmilksOnMe · 19/05/2010 21:35

If a parent has it then there is a strong chance that one, or all of their children will have it. From what I have read about it, the genetic link is quite strong.