Any advice on whether to get a diagnosis of ADHD ?

[FoxyDog1234]

My child is 13 and in year 9. Last month she was placed on head of year report and has been getting bad scores and comments on it since. You have to get it signed every lunch and my child notified me that her head of year said she was concerned about her and told her to come in a room for a chat when she broke down in tears and said she couldn’t help it and she hates getting in trouble. She then started asking questions about her concentration and how she sleeps etc. I got a phone call yeastersay telling me this and that she’s asked teachers to observe her and so far they are convinced she has it , they say it’s become more apparent now due to the chatty ness. What do I do ?

Start with your doctor. Our pediatrician diagnosed my son's ADHD when he was 10. There are a number of standard assessment tools they use.

It's useful to have the official diagnosis as the school can then offer accommodations and support.

What things do they ask you to do so they can give a diagnosis ?

Yes, get a diagnosis.

What things do they ask you to do so they can give a diagnosis?

Here's an overview of how the dx is made. There may be forms they want her teacher to complete.

ADHD assessments and tests

A diagnosis can be helpful for several reasons:

It's a gateway to medication (which can really help some).

It helps people with ADHD to understand themselves.

It helps them cope with the way others see them.

It helps them understand the gap between their perception of themselves, their efforts, way of doing and thinking and the feedback they get (which often seems unfair and negative to them).

It helps others to understand them and to listen less judgmentally.

All this can make the difference between a negative, angry, acting out teen whose self esteem is in free fall, and a talking, mostly coping, occasionally reflective, well supported teen who has plans for herself.

Thank you x

Any advice for exploring potential ADHD online? Where I live (not in the UK) there isn't great support for children with SEN

When searching ADHD , I just searched adhd symptoms and the age of my child . How old and what gender is the child you suspect has adhd ? I may be able to help as I’ve done lots of research

Has anyone’s child or any adult adhd/add sufferer had issues with declaring it to dvla? Or on car insurance?

Hi Tripping, I have an ADHD diagnosis and it's never occurred to me to declare it to DVLA. I was diagnosed as an adult and have been driving since 17.

I don't think it affects my driving. I'm fairly sure that my consultant would agree, so as far as I can see from the gov.uk advice, I don't need to report it.

My consultant has specifically told me to report to dvla and insurance, which is nuts as I am super high functioning, several degrees etc, and only diagnosed at 41 due to inability to concentrate! Really worried about it!

Tripping,
Surely if you drive for years without accidents on every intersection it does not affect your driving. Maybe you concentrate so hard during driving and have coping techniques to stay focussed etc etc, but you can't concentrate that hard all the time, ....etc.
Maybe if you go back to your consultant and discuss that it does not affect you when you are on medication? Because the med is supposed to achieve it. Ask advice about legal standing of consultant's advice to report. Do you have to follow it? What are the implications?
I don't know whether the consultant is really aware whether you should report or not. He may think that but he might be wrong. If he insists, what is the basis. What specific fact did you tell him that it affects your driving? Surely the med should deal with that. I would go back and clear it out of the way.

OP, the main thing is that your DD will receive some SEN support and exam arrangements, which is important if she does have the condition. You need the school to put concerns in writing, refer her.

Absolutely get a diagnosis, the school will be better able to support your daughter, you will also have means of making sure your daughter isn't being punished for something out of her control. As for driving. I know an adult diagnosed later in life with ADHD, they declared it to the DVLA without any issue. Worse case scenario if you were ever involved in an accident and it hasn't been disclosed you could face a fine.

I would always advocate pursuing a diagnosis, gives access to protections under the Equality Act and the right to reasonable adjustments.

I was diagnosed at 49.

If there's any suggestion your child might have ADHD, please put them forward for testing sooner, rather than later.

I look back and see all the wasted opportunities and the failed trestments for 'depression', which have left me with quite serious side effects and I honestly cry.

Definitely pursue diagnosis, mine is the same age, already diagnosed ASD, spd and dyspraxia and we've just requested evaluation for adhd on top. The senco at school is supporting us and agrees he needs assessment for it now.

Yes do it. Depression and anxiety are often co-morbidities.

DD was diagnosed with ADD at 17. Depression abd anxiety set in just before gcse. She was well behaved and high performing although performance started tailing off in y11 due to mh issues taking hold.

Diagnosis was a true turning point and so many pieces of the complex puzzle that made her fell into place. As soon as she knew what was wrong and started on medication her life turned around. She aced her a'levels and is now at a famous oxbridge college.

It was a long journey though including cutting, od's and withdrawal of food. She needed AD's, therapy, and very much love and support. Ritalin has been a massive help alongside the diagnosis.

Sadly we got no support whatsoever from the NHS and I dread to think what might have happened had we not had £6k to spend on helping her get better with the services of an excellent child psychiatrist.

Ok thanks , would u recommend going private ?

I can't speak for the quality of services where you live op, but here in Surrey, definitely private. Providing you can afford it of course.

I have a 19 year old daughter with an ADHD diagnosis and a 13 year old son with an ADD diagnosis. I think being diagnosed is a huge help because schools and exam boards will accommodate their needs. Also it helps them to be self aware and realise there is an explanation for the way their brain works. And ADHD can be a gift in many ways, it isn’t all bad!
We went privately because there were long waiting times with PCAHMS - I think you only get in quickly if they are considered high risk.

DD was cutting and overdosing and would have got nowhere near anything more than a nurse assessment which looked only at potential social issues and recommended counselling - and that was a 12 week wait after an od. She'd have had to have spiralled so far she'd have dropped out of 6th form before she got anywhere near clinical help or even had ADs prescribed. It's shocking here, absolutely shocking.

Thanks x

I wouldn’t recommend going privately, because exam boards don’t look very favourably on private assessments in my experience. Thryprefer the school to have evidence of support offered to the student and the impact it has had. Also they want theschool to have sought advice from other professionals, have acted upon it and shown the impact it has had. It also has to show that it is the student’s normal way of working.

Bearing that in mind,as well as starting the process of a diagnosis with the GP, I’d suggest asking for support from the SEND department in school. There could be some very simple strategies hat might make a difference to the ability to focus in class.