Where to start reading on ADHD?

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My son (9) probably has ADHD - we have long suspected ASD but now the attention problems are really quite noticeable. I am the sort to start with reading up on it - have done some reading on ASD but none on ADHD and not sure where to start? What do you recommend?

Unlike ASD, it's hard to find impartial, non-commercially biased info about ADHD.

Book-wise, Kids in the Syndrome Mix is good, particularly if you have a child who doesn't appear to perfectly tick one box.

www.additudemag.com/ is American, so can't tell you much about the kinds of support and wotnot that you can get over here, but is a mine of useful information and advice about strategies that go way beyond the tired old sticker chart.

Is your DS under the care of CAMHS or a paed, at the moment, or are you still at the stage of information and evidence gathering so you can talk to your GP about a referral?

Thanks for that. I've ordered the 'Syndrome Mix' book along with a couple of others that seem popular.

We had a referral a year ago and we are under the 'care' of a paediatrician now. We have a tentative diagnosis of social communication difficulties and sensory processing disorder, since he was reluctant to diagnose ASD since my son was quite borderline. Strategies for SPD have been particularly helpful.

We've done a lot of work at home to reduce his anxiety and foster friendships, and the development of a 'best friendship' has been enormously wonderful! So his 'aspie' traits are currently manageable, but his attention difficulties are becoming more obvious and problematic. I just haven't seen anything that gives me helpful strategies for helping him with these issues, beyond 'don't give too many instructions at once, reduce distractions, be super clear in what you are asking.' We're doing all that already.

I asked for ADD/ADHD to be looked into in the autumn, and we were sent a score card as was the school, so we are now at the stage of waiting for a diagnosis or further observation. I'd be happier if the paediatrician actually observed him (hasn't happened so far, has all been based on what I've said and the school) but am not sure whether to press for that.

So, I don't really care whether he gets a formal diagnosis at this stage. I may care later. For me, his attention/memory/carefulness/impatience issues are causing problems now and I need to do something about it, and I think the ADD literature may provide more help than the ASD literature.

His teachers are open to discussing it and to trying strategies, but I think they secretly think he is fine - which he may well be, this degree of forgetfulness and zoming out may be totally typical of a 9 yo boy, I have no idea. But I've found it so helpful to tweak my parenting approach using ASD strategies that I think the ADD strategies may also yield results at this stage.

Sorry - that was waaaaay too long!

Yes, we have had self-help advice from the OT which has been brilliant. Hard work but it seems to have taken the edge off his sensory seeking behaviour and he is now in a new stage, I think. He has/had proprioceptive difficulties and so we did ball work, heavy work, squashing him, wheelbarrow walking and so on. Now, if we ask him if he wants to be squashed he isn't so keen, so obviously some need has been met.

We have massively increased the amount of sport he does. He now does three extra sport sessions every week, triathlon, tennis, and multiskills. In the summer he'll do more. This also keeps his energy within reasonable bounds. I also send him off to the park sometimes on his bike if he is being unbearably bouncy - we got him long range walkie-talkies for Christmas so this is a good option.

No OT at school yet, despite promises that it would start in October. He has no statement but will probably be able to join in with another (statemented) child's sensory diet activities when they begin.

I have not heard of the Alert Programme but will look into this and see if I can request it for him (and possibly this other child).

I like the book because, while it doesn't go very deeply into anything, it does discuss how different conditions often appear to overlap and interact with each other and how treating one, in the presence of another, can sometimes be problematic. It gave me pointers as to what I should be reading about in more depth, eg, when DS1 was diagnosed with ADHD to make sure I really researched drug options prior to discussing them with the psychiatrist, as the most common side effects of methylphenidate were already huge problems for DS1.

Unlike Face's DS, mine doesn't respond well to heavy exercise. He ends up in a lot of pain and even more bouncy and tetchy. He has very poor motor planning, so finds it hard to get any enjoyment out of it. he finds walking on the beach, calming, but can't cope with the weather on our beach for most of the year, so doesn't do it very often. So we make do with walks and scooter rides and I'll rope him into heavy housework, such as vacuuming, when I can.

That sounds like a very useful read indeed, thanks for the recommendation.

I don't have a problem with overlapping 'syndromes' given that so much of the label is self-defining rather than causal, anyway, iyswim. Aspergers doesn't 'cause' this set of symptoms, it describes them. So as neuroscience moves on, causes may be discovered that explain why one set of issues crops up in several different 'syndromes'.

And my main focus is on what I can practically do to help with lowering anxiety (much better now), reducing physical restlessness (getting there), and improving working memory (tips welcome!).

Oh, and I wonder what kind of activity your son needs? My daughter (NT, I think) doesn't do heavy work at all, she'd snap like a twig. But then, she clearly doesn't need it - she can sit still for hours playing with small things. The sensory stuff was amazing for my son because (once we;d figured out it was the proprioception stuff) all the techniques so clearly satisfied some part of his brain.

Mine needs slow and steady exercise, but nothing too vigorous because of the pain and overstimulation. He tends to drape himself over a footstool at, erm, rest (rest is far from an apt description, as he crawls around the room). He's learnt to surround himself with cushions and blankets if he actually wants to sit and watch something. That's not so easy for him to do at school, though.