Is ADHD just a label thats put on children.

I have a child with ADHD and autism. He's not on medication and we don't receive any financial aid. He's not a "bold" child either, believe me if my son had a meltdown you would know he has a special need. We manage it with behaviour modifications and limiting his triggers, watching his diet, keeping him to a strict routine and making sure he gets enough sleep. He can't sit still for long periods at all without stimming like mad so needs regular movement breaks, once he gets those he is grand. I'm really fed up with being told I'm a **** parent who is too lazy to care for him so I need some fancy label to excuse his behaviour. You don't get a diagnosis that easily folks

masterboy123 wrote: »

First of all ADHD is a neuro-psychiatric condition. Some people use the word "label" often for many of the psychiatric conditions, which should be avoided.

ADHD (term used in America) aka Hyperkinetic disorder (in Europe) is an Axis I diagnosis, which requires a thorough investigation and several diagnostic tests together with a clinical interview before it is diagnosed. If it's severe enough then stimulant medication are the recommended treatment. For mild cases, parenting and behavioural modifications are advised. And medications are reserved for cases where school / occupational functioning is effected. A regular follow up by doctor is required for those who are on medications because of frequent side effects, most commonly loss of appetite, initial insomnia, failure to thrive in extreme cases, etc.

Hope it gives you a brief idea on ADHD.

When the assessment is carried out is at any point the child’s diet looked at?

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

No, you don't. SEN teaching no longer works on that basis nor does CAHMS.

On the topic of having to slap a label on children to get them help, well, you still kind of do byhookorbycrook, I'm afraid.

My son needs a laptop in school, as recommended by HSE OT. But we have just been informed that he won't be getting it, because he has no diagnosis. He was assessed for dyspraxia, but OT decided it wasn't it really, and I agreed with her it isn't it, but there's something else and he is due to be assessed by ASD team. Parallel to that the educational psychologist also recommended help (and ASD assessment).

We are waiting more than a year now for that final assessment, his work in school is suffering and he is anxious as a result, but hey, no diagnosis, no laptop.

He does get resource time, along with the other few who need it in the school, but since he is more high ability + something-not-quite-yet-determined than the other "usual" issues, I'm not sure it achieves much for him.



On the topic of ADHD being over diagnosed, I do agree with you OP that up to a recent time, there was a spate of diagnoses that may have been sort of "bought". I don't think that is the case anymore though, and I have to say, having the experience of it, that getting an assessment and diagnosis are not now the easy-peasy experiences you seem to think they are.

But I did have the experience of women in a facebook group that I was encouraged to join by another mum, all giving each other very precise tips on how to get DCA, and how first request was going to be rejected, but what to say to get it on appeal, etc... There were more posts on trying to get DCA than how to help their kids. I unjoined fairly lively as it was getting my blood pressure up.

Mountainsandh wrote: »

On the topic of having to slap a label on children to get them help, well, you still kind of do byhookorbycrook, I'm afraid.

My son needs a laptop in school, as recommended by HSE OT. But we have just been informed that he won't be getting it, because he has no diagnosis. He was assessed for dyspraxia, but OT decided it wasn't it really, and I agreed with her it isn't it, but there's something else and he is due to be assessed by ASD team. Parallel to that the educational psychologist also recommended help (and ASD assessment).

We are waiting more than a year now for that final assessment, his work in school is suffering and he is anxious as a result, but hey, no diagnosis, no laptop.

He does get resource time, along with the other few who need it in the school, but since he is more high ability + something-not-quite-yet-determined than the other "usual" issues, I'm not sure it achieves much for him.



On the topic of ADHD being over diagnosed, I do agree with you OP that up to a recent time, there was a spate of diagnoses that may have been sort of "bought". I don't think that is the case anymore though, and I have to say, having the experience of it, that getting an assessment and diagnosis are not now the easy-peasy experiences you seem to think they are.

But I did have the experience of women in a facebook group that I was encouraged to join by another mum, all giving each other very precise tips on how to get DCA, and how first request was going to be rejected, but what to say to get it on appeal, etc... There were more posts on trying to get DCA than how to help their kids. I unjoined fairly lively as it was getting my blood pressure up.

When I was 12, the Mater CAMHS completely discharged me because I was going into secondary school - possibly the worst time too because I became a psychopath losing my mind over the death of my nanny. I am diagnosed with ASD and Epilepsy by the way. I was put on a waiting list for Beechpark Services for 3 years and throughout that time, I went without help so to me, those were the dark ages of my life. Fortunately, I was finally brought into Beechpark in late 2016 and started doing multiple meetings in 2017. I told them that I needed a laptop in school - but I didn't have the diagnosis or disabilities really to get one. However, I told them that I need one because of my slow writing speed and that I'm extremely fast at typing. My slow writing speed was seriously getting me behind in school, stressing me out, giving me pains in my hand. They did a writing speed test in June last year with me and it turned out, my writing was very slow for the average my writing speed should be at. This made them choose that I should get a laptop. I eventually got it in November after waiting a few months of torture of writing and stressing. My mother said that I should have had the laptop since primary school! Since I've gotten the laptop, I've had no problems in terms of keeping up in school. It helps me hugely and I feel happier coming into school with it than writing. I just wanted to show you this as an example for where my problems mattered over diagnosis for getting the laptop. Not to mention, I get resource times far more now since I have spoken my mind about my stress and contemplating suicide to Beechpark and my GP - I do not feel those thoughts anymore now fortunately. I used to barely get resource times. I did every subject. I did Irish. I did French. I did everything and mostly higher level too bar English (and Maths from December 2017). I decided to get an exemption from Irish because of stress becoming an all-time high as a result of that one subject. Ironically though, I was top of the class in terms of results. For example, I got a B in JC Irish - higher level. For my Christmas test this year before I got the exemption in January, I got 70% the highest in the class and again higher level. I hope your son somehow manages to get a laptop.

It took me forever to get things like laptop, resource times and now a cushion for my back and bottom which are very vulnerable to pains.

As for ADHD, my brother has that as well as EBD..... nightmare combination. He is one of the most selfish people you could find. I still struggle to put up with him to this day. I have never seen a person quite like him and I can tell ya, the ADHD diagnosis is definite for him. It's not just a label. He needs serious help in calming down and not throwing tantrums. He was very hyperactive during his childhood but as of recently, he's calmed quite a lot in terms of the hyperactivity like he doesn't go out much at all now.... probably because of me telling him all the times that I get pissed off of opening the door for him when he comes back like every 5 minutes when I'm doing something like recording, gaming, weather forecasting etc. Me snapping at him is not any better because like I said, he needs serious help.

Deleted User wrote: »

There's a huge amount of ignorance, callousness and lack of awareness from the op and others in this thread.

It's possible to see your points and agree with them and yet be aware of some less genuine cases.

Call it callousness if you wish, I call it being realistic.
And I'm speaking from the perspective of a professional in education as well as a parent of a child with possible SN. I read every report available on the children I'm in contact with, and take on board diagnoses and suggestions, and I do come across less convincing assessments.

Refusing to acknowledge that some cases are not as genuine is not doing the genuine ones any favour.

sryanbruen wrote: »

! Since I've gotten the laptop, I've had no problems in terms of keeping up in school. It helps me hugely and I feel happier coming into school with it than writing. I just wanted to show you this as an example for where my problems mattered over diagnosis for getting the laptop.

His principal is "appealing" the decision, or just getting back in touch with OT and parties concerned in spite of the decision, since he knows my son, his high abilities (obvious in Sats and other tests), and can see what an effort he puts into his work, and how the handwriting is a genuine ongoing issue that is holding him back.
Life is so much effort for my little guy. He's doing ok because he's not lazy and he has lots of coping strategies, but everything seems to take more work, from socializing to getting dressed, and finishing school work or just making sense of ordinary communication, and it takes its toll on his mental health.

I'm hoping the final assessment will happen before the summer.

Mutant z wrote: »

Its the way she came across she just sounded like she didn't give a damn and passed them off as having ADHD it just didn't sound genuine at all.

Mutant z wrote: »

I can remember a woman on the radio saying 4 of her kids had ADHD now come on that's clearly taking the piss 1 is something but 4 how naive does someone have to be to believe that, and by the way she spoke she clearly didn't give a damn about what they got up to.

THIS is your thought process?

You listetned to a radio show about one woman who claimed that four of her kids had ADHD and came to the conclusion that:

Mutant z wrote: »

It seems ADHD is just a lazy label thats put on children with little basis in reality most of which is just normal childhood behaviour.

Mutant z wrote: »

Exactly its just a lazy diagnosis and used as an excuse for parents to not take responsibility for their own children.

Call me a skeptic, but if you're going to present this viewpoint with and degree of seriousness, you're going to have to do something a bit more thorough than just dismissing it as "a lazy diagnosis".

Mountainsandh wrote: »

His principal is "appealing" the decision, or just getting back in touch with OT and parties concerned in spite of the decision, since he knows my son, his high abilities (obvious in Sats and other tests), and can see what an effort he puts into his work, and how the handwriting is a genuine ongoing issue that is holding him back.
Life is so much effort for my little guy. He's doing ok because he's not lazy and he has lots of coping strategies, but everything seems to take more work, from socializing to getting dressed, and finishing school work or just making sense of ordinary communication, and it takes its toll on his mental health.

I'm hoping the final assessment will happen before the summer.

Discovered in my teens that I had been diagnosed with dyspraxia as a child. Parents sort of kept it from me. It explained so many of the issues that I experienced during childhood. Such as struggling with sports and handwriting that I could never improve. Ended up being held back because I couldn't learn to read at same pace as other kids. It's a real challenge to experience. I wish you and your son the very best.

Dakota Dan wrote: »

Back in the old days a good kick in the arse solved it.

did it really?

pitifulgod wrote: »

Discovered in my teens that I had been diagnosed with dyspraxia as a child. Parents sort of kept it from me. It explained so many of the issues that I experienced during childhood. Such as struggling with sports and handwriting that I could never improve. Ended up being held back because I couldn't learn to read at same pace as other kids. It's a real challenge to experience. I wish you and your son the very best.

It's a pity you weren't told. We had chats with my son, and when he was considered for dyspraxia I could feel his relief at being able to put a name to his issues, but it's not that.
His fine motor skills are actually ok, and gross motor skills do not justify a diagnosis of dyspraxia either.

But there's something there, and since we have no diagnosis I can't tell him not to worry and that it's just his "insert-condition-here" and we'll find ways to deal with it.

Ah but look, we're still finding ways to deal with it anyway, everyone's got their issues in this world. He's doing fine, but a diagnosis of something, whatever the hell it turns out to be, would help, and would reassure me that the rest of his school years won't be an ordeal for him.

I'm in education myself but his father and I we don't even care for academical success for our kids, whatever will keep them happy and help them be happy in life will be fine, but the mental health issue is the bigger concern.

Oh don't get me started on the lack of awareness for things like ASD, ADHD, mental health etc, it's dreadful!!!

My old friend has Trichotillomania. He had high anxiety as a result and even worse than mine which is saying something because I blow things out of proportion when it comes to worrying. My friend would keep pulling out of his hair 'til he made himself bald as a result. Guess what!? He was not allowed to come into school, he was suspended because having bald hair or a 0/1 cut in my school is against the rules :mad:. May I ask, what's hair got to do with your education? I hate my old friend now because of what happened but when I think of this, I really have to feel for him, the poor guy. His psychologist said to the school that the resource should be shut down! It's horrible, the teachers have zero clue about autism and other disorders, they are in need of huge training, like this should be illegal he said. I happened to agree with him on saying it's horrible and that the teachers have zero clue. I'm smarter than some of the teachers for crying out loud!! But I disagreed with saying it should be shut down. I don't think it should, it just needs massive improvement. It should not be shut down because being in resource gives me a chance to breathe from all the stress mainstream class gives me and I can relax when I'm in pain or feeling a bit unwell or even do my homework which means a lot of the time, I don't have homework to do when I go home and I can attend to my hobbies like weather. I loathe being in mainstream classes. Teachers and my parents say I'm well able for them. I'm not! I dropped from higher level Maths in December for example to ordinary level. I said I want to join the resource Maths class than the mainstream ordinary level class. Guidance counsellor and higher level Maths teacher disagreed with me and said I should be in mainstream class, this was infuriating me so I kept talking like "You're not me, you don't know what I'm feeling inside" etc. They eventually let me join and now I love it in the end. I got 97% in my Christmas test, this was like 30-40% higher than the next highest result. I could not care for this result at all and I don't care about the resource boys struggling in Maths, we all have our difficulties. Just to think that back in 1st year, I didn't have a single resource class, not one class. I was driving myself mental! Now it's all finally changed and they're starting to care for me - with the help of Beechpark.

The lack of awareness for these disorders and mental health should be illegal, it's atrocious!

Mountainsandh wrote: »

It's a pity you weren't told. We had chats with my son, and when he was considered for dyspraxia I could feel his relief at being able to put a name to his issues, but it's not that.
His fine motor skills are actually ok, and gross motor skills do not justify a diagnosis of dyspraxia either.

But there's something there, and since we have no diagnosis I can't tell him not to worry and that it's just his "insert-condition-here" and we'll find ways to deal with it.

Ah but look, we're still finding ways to deal with it anyway, everyone's got their issues in this world. He's doing fine, but a diagnosis of something, whatever the hell it turns out to be, would help, and would reassure me that the rest of his school years won't be an ordeal for him.

I'm in education myself but his father and I we don't even care for academical success for our kids, whatever will keep them happy and help them be happy in life will be fine, but the mental health issue is the bigger concern.

I won't go too deep into this as this is just for you personally to take away.

I realise it is just your wording. But if ever you are talking to your child about his mental health issue or just considering it yourself.

Instead of projecting or saying "what ever will keep them happy ,help them to be happy" ..

Try learn yourself to say "I just want them to have a healthy outlook on life ".