ADHD starting in adolescence

[azaleanth90]

Could anyone advise me if adhd (inattentive) can appear in adolescence? My 13 y o has had real problems with school concentration since starting secondary, and along with this has come anger, defiance, acting out - all fairly normal for adolescence I know but on the extreme end. The NHS advice suggests it has to be evident before 12 and I wondered if this is so- might it be that the greater demands of high school have brought it out?

I would say, and am in NO way an expert, just a mother of a teenager, a preteen with ASD and possibly ADD, and I have ADD.

If you feel that he has generally been able to cope, and has managed a normal primary school workload, and has only now shown these signs, they absolutely would fit with anxiety, or a similar issue. My 14yr old undoubtedly has a slight ADD issue, but generally has managed without intervention (mainly because he’s much cleverer than me!), but last year he suddenly started exhibiting all the symptoms you list.

He finally cracked and showed his absolute distress because something awful was happening with a friend of his, and he had been sworn to secrecy.

Speaking to the mum of said child, he was also acting out in the same way, and not only not concentrating, but apparently no longer interested in any of the subjects that he had easily done in his sleep.

Bottom line, find a way in. For mine, I actually expressed my sadness that he was being such a tosser, and that he was making us all miserable. I’m not proud of it, but I suppose I was letting him know that I was not coping, could not find an adult way to manage his behaviour and that was scaring me. And it meant I was being really unpleasant back (shouting, mostly). It was late at night, he was exhausted, and he just burst into tears.

I’m not suggesting that is the way to do it, just that I recognise I”m asking a lot for you to figure it out. Maybe check in with his teacher? For some parents that will be met with a snort of derision, but for some ,they’ll have noted a change too, or noted a change in who his hanging out with etc etc.

Anyway, good luck. I”m pretty sure it’s not ADHD, but of course the caveat is that we only found out that DS2 was dealing with ASD because he became so anxious that he couldn’t manage school. He actually held it all together SO well that we could explain away many of his characteristics as “just quirky”. Now he’s relaxed and less anxious, he’s so much more Aspie.

Not sure if any of that helps, because Ive just offered two completely opposed outcomes!

Anyway, good luck.

Thank you - that's interesting and helpful. Really struggling to find a way in as he won't talk to us at all - he's angry about everything, and I can't see any signs of anything else going on, other than the general trauma of new school/200 new people. Unfortunately teachers have no insight as the change came at the same time as changing school.

It’s so frustrating isn’t it, my DS is determined to stay at his school, even though it’s huge (1000 pupils) and i’m sure he’d feel better at the tiny school around the corner (even though it’s crap with all things neurodiverse, so is ours).

Maybe go through the pain of talking to the GP and seeing if there is a scale/questionnaire he can fill in with the doctor, without you in there. It might shed light.

Otherwise, you could try the fantastic book called taking charge of adult ADHD - Russell Barkley, even though it’s about adults, it might be helpful here because you’re not aware of symptoms earlier. There’s a tick list at the back which is useful because it’s answered with “rarely, sometimes, always’ type answers, which means you will see the extent of any issues.

Meanwhile, my only other suggestion is make up a longish journey for the two of you, lots of snacks, a little water, and talk of nothing on the off-chance that he feels able to unwind and relax. Even if he doesn’t mention anything specific you might be able to gauge whether it’s about needing to relax (ie it’s anxiety), is actually miserable, or has some level of inattention that needs addressing.

Finally, what is his screen usage like? A friend and I were comparing notes that being on insta has an unpleasant effect on both our boys!

oh god screen usage - yes, it's awful and he is more human without it. Insta would give anyone distraction, wouldn't it? Tried the long journey thing - won't take his earphones out. Thanks for the book rec - I'll have a look.

I'm Head of Learning Support at a secondary school. I have a special interest in ADHD. According to the current diagnostic criteria, it can't suddenly appear as a teenager. However, it's often only noticed once they hit their teenage years as there is suddenly increased pressure in terms of time management, organisation and other executive functions. In primary school they have one main teacher who manages their lives for them. The inattentives can often mask their symptoms up until this point. There's actually very little understanding of ADHD in this country so don't expect your SENCO or even GP to have much knowledge. You may have to go the private route as waiting lists for CAHMs are huge.

DD2’s problems only really started to appear around 10 - 11; and in particular when she started secondary school. They got worse the higher up secondary school she went - problems with executive functioning, such as putting thoughts together for an essay.

She recognised herself at university she had ADD and got herself diagnosed. It was only as we were filling in the forms for the assessment, she told me the full extent of her problems with attention - she cannot follow conversations for more than 5 minutes, unless it’s short one word answers to her questions. She can’t follow recipes, instructions, books, films....I had no idea the extent of it, because she covers up by appearing to concentrate when actually she’s not, and uses words like “nice” or “cool” in conversation to cover up she has no idea what has been said!

Forgets everything, is totally messy...Her sister with dyspraxia is 10 x more organised!