Could DS year 10 have ADHD?

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DS year 10 has been up and down since moving to secondary school at the start of the pandemic. He is a caring sensitive boy who was happy, popular and confident at primary school but struggled with the switch to secondary school during COVID. He loved lockdown and really didn't want to go back to school. He is about to turn 15, has friends but he struggles with social anxiety and confidence. He seems overwhelmed by school-is worrying about most of his subjects, he finds it difficult to concentrate and focus in class, he struggles to organise himself for school, is frequently late, and struggles to organise his homework. With help from us, once he is settled and organised he wants to work but he complains loudly and gets seriously grumpy about the prospect of schoolwork.

At primary school and nursery he always struggled to be left and to separate from us, struggled with changing classes and teachers each year. He developed a nervous tic in year 3 but this disappeared as he settled into the year. Apart from that he didn't display anything of concern.

His disposition is kind and caring but he is increasingly stressed and grumpy and we are all stepping on eggshells around him. Over the past 6-9 months he has developed an OCD-like tic (handwringing), finds it difficult to sit still to watch tv with us, finds it difficult to wind down and rarely gets enough sleep. He wakes up early at the weekend, regardless of what he time goes to sleep. We try to stick to routines, limit gaming and phones as much as we can at his age, yet he still finds it difficult to relax.

Is this just normal teen behaviour for a sensitive anxious child or could it be an indication of something else such as ADHD? We are not very well versed in SEN or ND so don't really know where to start.

I have spoken to the GP who would not refer to CAMHS because his anxiety isn't as severe as other cases. School are keeping an eye on things but he is very reluctant to open up at school or draw attention to himself. It would be really helpful if anyone has any advice on how much to worry about him and whether there is anything else we can be doing for him apart from encouragement and organisation. Thanks

This sounds a lot like my son who has recently been diagnosed with adhd. I would start by reading up as much as you can - try additude online magazine and then maybe arrange a meeting with the senco to discuss? The anxiety and worry will only ramp up next year with GCSEs.

That’s really helpful, thanks so much I will take a look at Additude. I hope your son is doing well. Do you mind me asking whether your son’s referral for diagnosis came via the GP or school? So far we have been given a list of private counsellors/psychotherapists from the GP following our concerns re anxiety. This was not specifically as a result of adhd questions. I have been in touch with a couple, (£180 an hour) however I am still working out what our next steps should be. We are prepared to pay for private diagnosis if the NHS wait is very long but £180 an hour sounds like it could very quickly become very expensive. School are not particularly concerned, he is not at all disruptive and is quite quiet in lessons however the recurrent theme is a lack of focus.

I got a referral from the GP and then went private. We had to, my son was anxious and being disruptive and school was increasingly unsympathetic. The wait list for private is long, the wait under cahms very very long! In the meantime try to get some help from school for anxiety (we had some esla sessions) and start writing to them with your concerns. They will need to participate in the assessment process by completing forms so it’s important they also start to recognise and acknowledge some of the things you are concerned about. Doing your research will help you frame your concerns with the right language so that the right people help you join up the dots. Getting a diagnosis has helped us get the school to understand this is a child who has needs which aren’t being met rather than a child who is just being a troublemaker.

That’s really helpful good advice, really appreciated. I hope things are slotting into place for your son.

Thanks, it’s better, but a long way from OK, but thank you for your thoughts and good luck!