ADHD would you push for diagnosis?

[Sarahljones]

My niece (7) has all the classic signs of ADHD at home: jumpy, loud, easily distracted, emotional outbursts etc. Teachers feel that there are no issues at school though. She did go through a couple of years of school refusal- when we could get her there she was withdrawn but ok. She is very shy and keen to be on side with teachers. My DSis (her DM) thinks that her concentration at school is a problem and she is underperforming, but because she appears to be average in the class and is not disruptive, teachers haven’t noticed her issues. WWYD? Is she ADHD or just a spirited kid?!

Hi. I am afraid I dont know the answer but you have just described my son, and I was on here looking for answers too, so I will be watching replies.

It will be very hard to get a diagnosis if school are not seeing it. I don’t know if the private sector are the same but I know when we refer a child we have to give our views and complete the same questionnaires as the parents so they can compare them. Presumably because it’s quite challenging to mask adhd unlike say autism. What makes her mum think she is underperforming? Is she appearing quite bright at home and not meeting potential? Or not making adequate progress?

I had been in the similar situation for a long time. We saw lots of ADHD traces but DS's school always told us that he could sit still during lesson and is academically able. GP had the same opinion and not helpful.

However, delay of organising skill had been bigger and bigger and we felt stressful and miserable every time when we saw he forgot things or called lazy by others. Finally we decided to go to a private clinic and feel much better now. We regret not to see the private consultant earlier. We were given lots of effective support by the consultant and now just started working together with the school. Earlier diagnosis means getting earlier support.

We had an unhelpful school who couldn’t see the signs of inattentive ADHD, after years of asking we went private and refused to involve school

It took 7 weeks £1k for the psychiatrist £350 for the gold standard QB test which confirmed severe inattentive ADHD straight onto meds and slotted into our local NHS services 6 weeks later

I must stress this was as much because CAMHS took 3 years to assess our older DC and we were not prepared to have DC2 messed around any further

My daughter was diagnosed by this lady, Dr Maite Ferrin. She specialises in ADHD in girls - as with autism, they can present very differently to boys.

It was £850 for the full appointment (2.5 hours, plus the Connors psychometric tests for school and parents prior), following a QB Check which was, I think, £195, showing strongly that she needed that assessment.

We were lucky in that she is impulsive and hyperactive, not just inattentive. That makes life tricky for school, and so they were fully on board. I'm solely inattentive, and was extremely academic as a child, so I wasn't diagnosed until adulthood. The difference medication can make in life is just extraordinary and I can't strongly enough support proper assessment and, if indicated, medication. Nobody would expect a diabetic to manage without it, and untreated ADHD can be dangerous, given the risks for someone who doesn't notice what goes on around them, or takes risks without being able to weigh them up first. That's without considering the risks that shaming over behaviour the child can't help will lead to real problems with self-esteem, and then to self-medication. I was lucky, and my self-chosen drug was only caffeine. Others aren't.

She may just be absent-minded and flaky, and that's fine. She'll mature as she grows. But if she has ADHD, or indeed ASD, then she needs help. My life would have been so different, had I had it as a child.

I would note that the masking etc may mean she's autistic - again, that presents very differently in girls. You need someone to investigate, as you can't support her without understanding what is going on.

I will also add that, sadly, we also went private because the local NHS failed our autistic son for many years. Underfunding is the root cause, but at present in many areas there essentially is no NHS care for children with these problems. You're lucky if you see anyone, and when and if you do, they are highly unlikely to be specialist, so it's a waste of time. We fund their care on nought per cent credit cards, and quietly thank God for decent salaries.

ADHD is diagnosed by CAMHS, and her parents can start that process via the GP.

They will ask school to complete a questionnaire at some point, to gather their views.

School will not see an average position in the class as a problem if, for example, her NVR score was average.

I would, (If a parent). Girls are notoriously under diagnosed with adhd/ add.