Any drawbacks of getting an ADHD diagnosis?

[CordialVsSquash]

Hello,

I suspect my son (aged 13) has ADHD as he is so forgetful, disorganised and has difficulty concentrating in school especially. He is on the waiting list for NHS assessment which is around 18 months. So I have asked his GP to go through the Right to Choose option with Clinical Partners.

I think he really needs medication to be able to focus. Up until year 5 he was doing well in school but it has been a real struggle since then. Secondary has definitely been a lot harder, having so many subjects. He is good with Learning a topic but his memory seems to be so poor, he cannot retain it.
I worry he won’t do well in his GCSEs if he carries on this way.
So I think medication would help him focus and memorise better. But is there a drawback for the future? He would have to declare it for work Im assuming. Would he be ruled out of many job due to a diagnosis or the medication? I know it seems like I am jumping ahead here. Can people share their experiences pls.

Thanks for reading!

Hi OP. I'm sorry your son is struggling.
I was referred to Clinical Partners via Right to Choose. Their website did say they weren't accepting referrals for children and young people at the moment but it could have changed since I looked.
I did ask about the timeline and from diagnosis it would be 6 months before medication would be an option. I don't know why it's 6 months but that's what they said.

Ok. It might be that he has adhd but please don’t jump on the bandwagon. Drugging children is never a good outcome. If he has difficulty with his working memory, then you would be better speaking with an educational psychologist who can assess for working memory which a part of a dyslexia. No amount of drugs is going to help your son memorise something if he has difficulty with working memory or processing speeds (what you are describing). ADHD is attention, which is (obviously) very different to memory. I’m sure you know that adhd and dyslexia as well as autism, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia etc go hand in hand together

Drugging them really!!!

my son is on medication and it has worked wonders for him he would tell you that himself and he’s only 9 years old.

its not an easy decision to put your child with adhd on medication without judgement of others.

think before you speak.

I don’t believe in drugging children for adhd especially when these kids are given 60% and upwards of upf food every day and hours of screen time every day meaning they’re totally overstimulated and undernourished with factory food. I just don’t believe half these kids even have adhd in the first place. Diet is a huge factor and unfortunately we’re now in a place where, just like the US, the first port of call is to hand out drugs like sweets rather than looking at diet and lifestyle. This women is thinking about drugging her child because he has poor memory - this medication doesn’t even impact memory. That’s how keen people are to give their child drugs. My comment was entirely fair.

Like sweets 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Do you know how hard it is to get a diagnosis let alone medication for the condition?

And bandwagon. Really?!

OP, ignore the idiots on here who don't understand anything about ADHD (clearly) and still think it's a thing for naughty little schoolboys. Medication has changed my life. INCLUDING my memory, because actually a very big part of ADHD is about memory. It isn't all everyone bouncing off the walls all the time. If a psychiatrist doesn't think he has it, he won't diagnose it or prescribe the controlled drugs for it. See if you can find ways of giving him dopamine whilst he is learning - making it into games etc, anything that creates dopamine will help him to retain it. Fidgets / music may also help, depending on his needs. Speak to the SENDCO at school as they will be able to tell you what measures they can put in place to help.

As things stand, you don't generally have to disclose a condition to employers (unless, I assume, it has an impact of safety etc). If you do disclose conditions you can ask for reasonable adjustments. Some workplaces are more accommodating than others - if they are going to be difficult they may not be a great place to work anyway.

Medication can be useful for some people. Other people don't like it. It's very carefully managed.

The only downside I've found is that some children tend to lean into the diagnosis. There's a lot of stuff on social media about various neurodiverse conditions - it's a bit of a mixed blessing.

ADHD is so much more than just attention. It’s executive dysfunction which includes working memory, focus, time blindness, organisation, impulsivity... Working memory is also very different to just memory and OP seems to be talking more about long term memory. Working memory is the ability to hold information in your head, at the time you’re doing something, and use, process and manipulate that information, making connections and reaching conclusions. Long term memory problems in ADHD would likely be caused by difficulties with focus and attention at the time the information should have been processed, leading to it not being ‘stored’ properly.
A lot of the medications are dopamine re-uptake inhibitors and can absolutely improve working memory as well as all executive functioning skills which can improve long term memory.
Don’t post advice on something you clearly know absolutely nothing about.

What is with people on here that seem to think everyone knows less than themselves. I have 2 masters in psych from a top 3 psych department. JFC

Well then you really should know better because everything you said was utter nonsense!

Sure it was 🙄🤦‍♀️

@Waterballoons do you have ADHD? I ask because theoretical knowledge is a lot different to living with the condition.
I agree that what you have said is utter nonsense.

I, like, every other person in the country have an adhd diagnosis. I also have several others. As do my children. The university of life approach seems to matter more to some people than actual scientific research-based education.

Thanks for the helpful replies.

I was not looking to start a debate on whether ADHD should be medicated nor do I have any desire to drug up my son!
My concern is with his concentration and memory affecting his daily life and studies. Medication may help, I don't know. We haven't even got a diagnosis yet but yes he does need support in some form. I guess I was thinking too far ahead about medication limiting his career options. Realistically, he needs help now to do well in school and manage day to day life better so it is probably best to focus on that.

Speak to an ed psych - they will assess holistically. Don’t go jumping to an adhd diagnosis. Even if he DOES have that, there are likely other things that are there too and they can look at things holistically

Slightly worrying that with all your qualifications, especially as psychology degrees have a lot of statistics in the syllabus, that you have stated every other person in the UK has an ADHD diagnosis whereas NICE state this is actually 3-4% of the UK population @Waterballoons

@CordialVsSquash I hope you get some support IRL and that your concerns are not invalidated like some posters try to. My ds has lots in place at school but he's at primary. He's awaiting assessment. Dd is 16 and school aren't interested because she's no trouble and high achieving. They don't see her difficulties that are actually disabling.

That’s not quite correct I don’t think. You have to be careful with stats. They anticipate that adhd impacts a small proportion of the population. As far as I’m aware, no one is keeping a log of diagnoses so the number of ACTUAL diagnoses will be much higher than that once all the private pay-to-diagnose is included. And of course I’m being facetious- it’s not every other person who has a diagnoses. But that is the direction of travel.

I think this very much depends on your sons wants and needs. Everyone has different symptoms and affects them in different ways. I have ADD - I don’t take medication but I manage though admittedly I wonder if medication would make managing easier but I know no different.

ds now 19 was suspected to have adhd in primary I wasn’t 100% convinced as he was still young but we decided on a ‘just incase and watch and wait mixture’ , by secondary it was appearing more obvious and he was struggling. He was quite clear he wouldn’t want medication, he struggled with some subjects but would excel in others.

I have some experience within adhd clinics and medication can be helpful for some people and others find it unhelpful and ‘dampens’ them. It isnt going to cure or solve all problems and as seen with the adhd medication shortage there is a case for more emphasis on coping mechanisms and therapy instead.

ds was energetic and competitive so naturally we encouraged sport, of course he would be all up for it for a few months then move on to something else. He would then get a ‘burn out’ so it would be a few months off but then encourage to go to gym or bike ride etc then back to sport. (now in work he uses the gym at lunch times and it improves his focus)

school wise - exceled in practical subjects and those he had interests in so encouraged those subjects for gcse and a levels but for key subjects he would completely disengage so in low sets, we got him 1:1 tutor after school - again he would engage for a bit then burn out, rest and then repeat I accepted this because ultimately something is better than nothing.

he didn’t achieve top grades but he passed and left school followed his own interests and by all accounts climbing ladder quickly with massive responsibility for his age (earning more than me starting off and I’ve had to go to uni!) there are plus sides to some of the symptoms of adhd and they can be an asset. for my ds he uses these in his job which makes him good at it.

he did get his diagnosis after leaving school for work reasons not to be used as an excuse but it’s an easier process for reasonable adjustments if ever needed in future or if he ever needs support from local services (those with adhd are at risk of depression etc)

my advice:

• encourage, and work to his strengths and interests
• dont make it a ‘thing’ that he has adhd, it can be used to explain why he does/doesn’t do things but isnt ever an excuse.
• work with him to problem solve and make adjustments for any weakness (at some point he will be an adult with a condition that he needs to learn to live with)
• have open and honest conversations with him, let him know the symptoms of ADHD (he might feel like he’s struggling or different but has no idea why), let him know medication may help (benefits and side effects) but most importantly work with him to figure out alternatives and coping mechanisms that work for him.
• last thing which is important as he’s a teenager, adhd particularly undiagnosed have a higher risk to experiment with drugs as well as higher risk of further MH concerns so 1. Drugs won’t help even if he feels they do and will place him at risk of further mh concerns and 2. He’s at risk of Mh concerns so without or without medication he just needs to be aware of his moods and speak to you or GP if he has concerns and not just struggle.