ADHD: would you disclose to the Admissions team?

[Oscarlucinda]

My Y5 son is soon to sit the 10+. Partly in a bid to avoid the 11+ because we think it will be a nightmare with him. We have found a school we think would be a good fit for him.

What are Mumsnetters thoughts on whether we disclose to the school with his application that he has ADHD? He was only recently diagnosed as presenting and it explains a lot in hindsight. Mainly his distraction in class and challenge focussing on school work. So his reports pick up on this and say he isn't working to his potential. He's now trialling meds but it could be a few months until he's stabilised and definitely not until after the 10+ has already taken place.

We aren't sure if we should disclose to provide some context for his school report. And possibly so they can make adjustments on the exam day so he's sat at the front to minimise distractions. Or whether, as some friends have advised, a private school may reject him because of the stigma (whether right or not) of ADHD. The school is oversubscribed. Equally, we think a school that would do this probably isn't the right place for him.

On the other hand, his school report is decent and he is high functioning so perhaps we should not risk disclosing at this stage and see how he gets on.

What do others think? We are very new to the ADHD journey and would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

I think it probably is best to disclose because all schools, whether state or private, need to be sure that they have the resources to support their students. No point sending him to a school that you later find has no support available for him (if indeed he needs it - but that would be a conversation the school should hold with you if he passes the exam and they wish to explore admitting him).

I think you need to disclose his ADHD as it's much better to find out now if they are going to support him appropriately or not.

You must disclose it now - most indie schools will have something in the T&Cs that says they can withdraw an offer if undisclosed SEN is then discovered.

It's a tricky one - a lot of selective independents are not keen to take on any kind of SEN bar the mildest of dyslexia, or an extremely high functioning ASD child who is a total whizz at maths with no behavioural problems.

DD had a dyslexia diagnosis at 7 and we got the ADHD diagnosis in Y9. I partly procrastinated on getting that done because I was concerned it could affect her getting into the schools we wanted.

We were turned down by independents who were keen to take her for her music but not for her dyslexia. In the end we opted for state with absolutely zero regrets - especially given that for ADD kids the hardest years tend to be in secondary not primary.

If you have a SEN child, you really, really don't want to be trying to work with a school that would prefer they weren't even there. If it will affect the offer of a place then you've probably had a lucky escape. FWIW, I know of children with ADHD with scholarships to very selective indies - it was declared at the time of application and they were prepared to work with it.

If it is the kind of school that would reject your child for having ADHD, it isn’t the right school for your child.
I would contact the school and ask for a chat with the SENCO - that would give you the best idea of whether they are going to support appropriately and work with your DS to help him succeed.

Thanks everyone. We will disclose. I agree that the kind of school that would hold it against him isn't the right school for DS.

@OhCrumbsWhereNow I also know of a few children who got into highly selective Indies with ADHD (on medication early so was managed). I do worry about stigma because of some ignorant comments I've heard. Ironically, one from someone in the educational field who should know better. I do feel we have left it late to get support but better later than never.

We are keeping our options open re state or indie. DS isn't academic enough for our local grammars and wouldn't get in. We also aren't eligible to apply for the local states that our preferred choices as we don't meet the religious criteria. Hence considering indies as we can't move house.

If they reject because of the adhd, it won't be because of stigma, it will be because they don't want their results to be impacted..If he passed the admissions test to the required standard, it shouldn't be a problem. If not, they're unlikely to accept him, even if you can prove his results were impacted by the adhd.

Unfortunately the mention of ADHD can lead to assumptions that the child will be a behavioural and organisational nightmare and will want a free pass on not handing in homework, breaches of rules etc.

Where selective and independent schools are welcoming tends to be with very mild dyslexia and high functioning ASD where the child is 'just a bit quirky.'

DD has ADHD, but has never had more than 2 behaviour points in a year (and those were whole class sanctions) but an awful lot of people seem to assume that she must be endlessly in trouble at school because they see it as a 'naughty child' label rather than understanding the realities.

@puddikat my concern is that between two students who both met the academic standard in the test, that disclose of ADHD would mean a bias towards the neurotypical student if they had to choose. It goes to the point made by @OhCrumbsWhereNow that there certain negative assumptions that can be made when ADHD is mentioned. Unfortunately, I've heard some of them which is why I'm paranoid.