Adhd 8 year old, worth diagnosis?

[cloudchaos]

The SENCO at my sons school believes he should have a referral to a psychologist for an ADHD assessment. He is 8 years old. I don't disagree that he has some ADHD traits but I've made it clear to the school that I'm not interested in medicating him. They seem very pro this. He's not disruptive in class, but more unfocused / away with the fairies, and probably does require more support than the other students as he has some TA time to re-explain the activities as he doesn't always "hear" what was asked of him. He's in an independent prep if that makes any difference to their agenda!

I don't mind him being assessed if this will ultimately benefit him, but I'm not sure what an ADHD diagnosis would mean for him - would he get longer in exams etc? And considering I don't want to have him medicated, I'm just wondering if there's any point getting diagnosed?

I have to be quick with this post because I have to go out. I am an ex-teacher.

There's was an ADHD boy who was supposed to be a lot of trouble. I always found him to be absolutely fine. When he had been in my own class for a short time his mother asked would I mind if he stopped taking Ritalin because she didn't like medicating him. I said let's do it.

It made absolutely no difference. He was the same delightful boy I had always found him. So I am extremely sceptical about the efficacy of Ritalin.

In another context I came across a school that was very keen in getting parents to have their children diagnosed. One teacher insisted on going to see the doctor with the parent - which I thought was outrageous. Even worse - the teacher persuaded the doctor to make the diagnosis when he was doubtful about it.

I came to the conclusion that diagnosing the children is a way of getting increased SEN funding and provides an excuse for poor educational results.

The headteacher of this school actually wanted to register my own child as SEN because he couldn't pronounce the 'ng' sound at the end of words eg. 'going' 'falling'. I said 'No. I'll deal with it'.

So I would say 1) DON'T medicate your child and 2) DON'T be bullied by the school.

The above poster has some odd advice. To factually correct: schools do not receive more money if children are diagnosed, nor if they are on the SEND register.

As for "the efficacy of Ritalin," the vast majority of people with ADHD are not medicated. Some, whose symptoms are generally more severe, are. I have met children with ADHD who made impulsive decisions that endangered their lives on an almost daily basis. For these people, medication allows them to function.

Your son does not sound like any ADHD is extreme or life limiting. You don't want him medicated. Therefore the benefit of diagnosis would be him being better able to understand himself, and others (eg. Future employers) being better able to understand him. A diagnosis wouldn't get him extra time in exams automatically, but could possibly strengthen an application for extra time. So these are the marginal benefits - you'd have to consider how much they are worth it.

In my opinion a diagnosis is worth it regardless of whether you choose to medicate or not.

ADHD is a protected status under the disability act and people with ADHD are entitled to appropriate accommodations eg movement breaks, in school and in employment.

Low self esteem/depression is a huge risk for those with ADHD so a diagnosis means a better understanding of themselves and their behaviour.

I think that a diagnosis at some point is worthwhile as a way to understand and adjust as necessary.

We didn't want to medicate either. But now ds is in year 8 and 'away with the fairies' just isn't an option when it means he cannot keep up with the work, is suffering at school. Your ds may just need very minor interventions, making medication uncalled for. Or it might be that the impact becomes more severe later.

I’m not convinced this poster is genuine. I’m an experienced SEN teacher and mother to two children with complex needs, one of whom has ADHD.

Firstly, medication absolutely does make a difference. I’ve taught many students who we could tell within minutes of arrival if they’d forgotten to take their medication. For some, we’d have to keep them out of class until the medication arrived, both for their own safety and that of others.

Secondly, a diagnosis makes no difference at all to funding as funding in terms of an EHCP is needs based, not diagnosis based. My own children didn’t get a penny extra in funding after their diagnoses (autism, ADHD, SPD, brain injury) as their EHCPs already provided funding based on their presenting needs.

I really doubt the teacher went to the doctor and persuaded them to diagnose the child there and then. The process to diagnose takes many months (after years of waiting) and involves far more (including hospital/paediatrician or CAMHS consultation) than a trip to the GP! To suggest it’s so easy to get diagnosed is both ignorant and an insult to those of us who’ve had such a battle to get our children supported.

@cloudchaos you got some amazing advice up there

if and when he gets a diagnosis, it’s extremely likely he ll get extra time on exams (we did ); also good SEN at school will put the right support in place to help him (either sit at the front or have little breaks etc)

Also your boy is very young, you don’t know how Adhd will manifest itself when he’s 12 in a different setting of a senior school with more expectations plus you can’t be certain how you ll feel about meds at the time

medication changed our life here , so yes right meds work , quite a lot actually to the point that even a small break is out of question for some parents

wrt the poster with the odd comments , she mentioned Ritalin which is not given in UK so in her country they might have different approaches . In UK things are different

good luck

A diagnosis can help him understand himself and adapt his approaches as he gets older. Will make a huge difference to his self esteem.

He might be fine at school now but roll on a few years and he might struggle more, in which case a diagnosis gives you a head start. Also might be able to work with school to put mitigations in place to avoid things turning into problems. You will likely find it easier to get schools to do pre-emptive rather than reactive support with a diagnosis.

EHCPs are based on need and not diagnosis though so if you choose not to go down a diagnosis route, it doesn’t mean you can’t get support later. Again exam access arrangements are needs based but I’ve been told (by mainstream secondary) that a diagnosis makes it much easier for them to make the case.

A diagnosis will mean that school makes reasonable adjustments, and that is extremely important. We put off a diagnosis until our child was 15, and he really struggled.

This

Also when he's older and doing GCSEs etc you may feel differently about medication and he will be old enough to have input into this. It will much easier if he's already diagnosed as it can take such a long time.

I have ADHD (inattentive type) and my God do I wish I’d known that at any time between birth and age 45.

The realisation that I’m not lazy! Not “too emotional”. Not “too sensitive”. That there are legitimate reasons for certain things being much harder for me than for many others, and that my difficulty with emotional regulation is not immaturity or me being a drama queen but simply my brain chemistry.

Even just knowing that has helped me to stay on a more even keel because I’m not wasting time beating myself up for my feelings but instead able to get on with tackling them.

It’s not all about school marks.

I don’t know that the damage done to my self-esteem can ever truly be undone but you are being ridiculous to think that a diagnosis is just a label, and excuse or only worth doing if you “want drugs”.

A diagnosis may be of no benefit to your DS at the moment, but you don't know how things will be on the transition to secondary school.
My DD13 was like this in primary school and managed fine. Fast forward a couple of years (admittedly through lockdown) and it was quite a different story.
I'd suggest a referral now as NHS waiting lists are generally 2+ years long. If you felt a diagnosis wasn't needed by the time your appointment came round then you could always cancel.
My gut feeling was never to medicate. However, circumstances dictated that medicating my DD was safer for her (extremely impulsive behaviours) and school has noticed a marked improvement in her focus and concentration which has a positive affect on her general behaviour.
We have recently stopped giving meds at weekends as they were having an adverse affect on her appetite and her weight has dropped to the 9th percentile. I'm hoping we can find the balance that works best - ADHD medication is very much a balancing act.
Only you can make the decision regarding your own son.

@Rufus27 This poster IS genuine and is speaking from his own experience. The child in my class came off Ritalin and it made no difference to his behaviour. He was intelligent, enthusiastic and a delight to teach.

The incident about a teacher attending an appointment with a doctor did happen. The doctor was reluctant to diagnose ADHD but the teacher persuaded him to do it.

It would seem I made the wrong conclusion if registration as SEN doesn't mean increased funding. This was around 2007 so it might have changed.

My impression of this particular school is they were using SEN as an excuse for poor results. To want to register a child as SEN because he can't pronounce the 'ng' sound at the end of words is absurd.

I am surprised to have been so much attacked for making a post which genuinely tried to help and caused me a certain amount of inconvenience this morning.

I am surprised that so many posters seem to actually want to see children given a label and medicated.

Why are you so anti meds? They can be life changing.

@Thesmellofsummerrain it's not a label, it's a diagnosis.

Thesmellofsummerrain how can you categorically tell the OP not to medicate their child?
You have some anecdotal experience of a child who you probably taught for only a short while and didn't have to live with.
ADHD becomes a whole different beast when puberty kicks in and other influences come into your child's life. Of course, I understand it's not like that for every family and that was only our experience. A diagnosis has helped my child make sense of her very complex emotions. It has also enabled us to access the help and support needed to keep her in school and functioning day to day. Her emotional regulation is now getting there and methylphenidate has played a huge part. Previously she couldn't focus enough to hold a conversation and listen.
Medication is a very personal choice. What's right for an 8yr old child now might be very different in the near future.

I cannot imagine for one minute it is real either .. especially as a teacher you haven’t just had one child either.

my Ds started medication end of year 5 - he is more inattentive that impulsive , though is impulsive .. His year 6 teacher said he wasn’t the child he was expecting , went from below expected to exceeding in less than half a term .

I would say if school are recommending it they are seeing it in school . The process won’t be quick - the older my Ds got the more he struggled in school , the more they are just expected to get on with it .

i think you are jumping the gun to assume he doesn’t require medication . It gives support and understanding to others and themselves .

Imagine having such an issue with ND that you make shit up. Mumsnet is getting quite a reputation for this.

“ DON'T medicate your child“

one of the reasons for the criticism , too decisive and categorical when you know one kid only that hasn’t been helped by medication

either way @cloudchaos we can only advise and suggest you keep your options open, the ultimate decision is with you

good luck x

I am not going to get into an argument about this. I have spoken from my own experience. Other posters have spoken from their experience.

This is something else from my own experience as a teacher. It might be helpful. It might not. But I offer it in case it's helpful to someone.

There was another boy when I was teaching Y6. All the way through school he hadn't paid attention and his results were poor.

When he came into my class his mum told me she'd started giving him Omega 3 fish oil capsules during the summer break.

The change was astonishing.

I found him to be intelligent, attentive and hard-working. He made up the 'lost ground' from previous years remarkably quickly and finished the year with above average - I mean good - results.

As I said - it was an astonishing change.

I offer this to any readers who might find it helpful.

@moanybird It was the boy's mother who wanted to take him off Ritalin. She came to tell me because she thought there might be knock-on effects in class. Basically, she asked me if it was OK with me - which was nice of her because it was her choice. In the event there wasn't the slightest problem. In the old cliche he was a pleasure to teach. From what the mum told me during the year there were no issues at home either.

@BackToOklahoma I think I have just experienced what Mumsnet has a reputation for.

It's not a label, it's a diagnosis. And for some kids, being diagnosed and given medication can be life changing.

My understanding of ADHD meds are that they don't change personality at all they're not meant to, so it is understandable why pp may not have seen a personality change.

I'd say a diagnosis is worth it. Knowledge is power. You can choose what you do with it, whether that's educating your ds about it, finding strategies that work to organise and cope with executive functioning issues (lists, new storage, reminder apps) or medicate. Medication isn't just 'ritalin' there are lots of different types which vary in the way that they work.

Thank you all for your thoughts. I think we will go ahead and see the psychologist and take it from there, as I agree my views might change on medication as he gets older, and he might also want medication when he's old enough to decide.

For those asking, it's complicated but there are multiple reasons that I'm not wanting to medicate at the moment. I feel like he might lose some of the "benefits" he also gets from ADHD if indeed he has it, from being on the medication. He is very young and still growing and I don't know long term implications of a child being on a stimulant. My DH has ADHD and addiction issues and I'm also concerned in case some of that is genetic and leads to addiction issues. My DH personality changed a lot on the medication and I don't want my son to "change". I'm concerned that he will feel it's not ok to be him, if people only accept him on medication.

My post was really about understanding the pros of a diagnosis vs the cons if I'm not doing it specifically for the medication. It seems no one really thinks there are that many negatives and I suppose a diagnosis at least opens more options for support in the future.

Thank you all for your perspectives.