You are not alone

By the time I founded the West Yorkshire ADHD Support Group, I had already done a lot of research and one thing I learned was that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder affects up to 20% of our schoolage children to some extent. Realizing that there must be many thousands of families out there suffering just as we had done, I told my story to the local press and the phones went mad. Suddenly, I found myself speaking to hundreds of desperate parents whose families had been blown apart by ADHD. Marriages had broken up because of it, children were being threatened with exclusion from school. Many were already excluded.

Often, mothers cried sharing their stories of how psychiatrists accused them of having poor parenting skills...the same psychiatrists who they had gone to for help. I certainly understood how they felt on this one. It had happened to us on occasion.

Since this time, I have worked hard to raise awareness among parents and professionals about ADHD and it’s impact. The mass of paperwork I accumulated throughout the years prompted me to write a book entitled “WILD CHILD!” (A Mother, A Son and ADHD) which chronicles our ten year struggle to get recognition and treatment for George’s condition.

George is now twelve, and has recently had a further diagnosis of Asperger syndrome (high functioning autism) and his behavior is still extreme, so we use a variety of techniques to manage him. Unfortunately they don’t always work; the understanding is just not there. He has no learning difficulties, but his social skills are still severely lacking. There is no cure for these conditions; they can only be managed. Sometimes ADHD symptoms subside with age, but often they remain into adulthood.

next: What Is ADHD?