What is ADHD?
It is a common behavioural disorder and children with ADHD have trouble focussing and staying on task, they may act without thinking and they can be hyperactive. It can occur in children of all different abilities. Sometimes children with ADHD have other problems aswell like conduct problems, anxiety, sleep difficulties and some learning problems like dyslexia, difficulty with handwriting.
It is the most common behaviourial disorder in UK. It can affect between 2-5% of all school children and it is more common in boys than girls.
What causes ADHD?
We don’t really know. What research has shown us is that sometimes it runs in families. Some other factors might be important such as low birth weight, premature birth and smoking/drinking alcohol during the pregnancy. All these factors might contribute to the brain being slightly different to children who don’t have ADHD.
How do I get help?
Sometimes your class teacher might notice that you are more distracted and hyperactive than your peers, your parents might notice this too.
They can have a chat to your GP who can refer you to CAMHS for an appointment.
What happens next?
When you are referred to CAMHS, if it seems that you might have ADHD and some other difficulties, we would offer you an appointment to get an idea of what the main issues are.
Then, one of our ADHD team will visit your school and talk to your teachers. We will then meet all your family if possible and ask a lot of questions about your early development. Sometimes we might ask you and your parents/carers to fill in some rating scales which help us with our assessment.
We meet as a team and discuss all our findings and then decide whether or not you have a diagnosis of ADHD.
How is ADHD treated?
There is no actual cure but it can be managed by support at school and also support to parents/carers so that they can manage the ADHD behaviours. Sometimes we recommend that parents go on a parenting course where they can learn ways of managing. Sometimes we offer parents/carers individual support through our parent support advisors.
Sometimes when there are other issues going on, we see families in our family therapy clinic.
Sometimes medication is recommended to help with ADHD symptoms. This is prescribed by a specialist doctor called a child and adolescent psychiatrist. This doctor will meet with you and explain how the medication works, its side effects and when you should take it. They will want to check your heart and measure your blood pressure and your height.
The main medications used are stimulants and non stimulants. They work on the areas of your brain involved in attention and concentration and they also help you to be less hyperactive and feel calmer.
When you first start medication, you will start on a low dose so we can monitor your response to it and check that you can tolerate it. You will be reviewed regularly to start with and we will work out the optimum dose of medication for you. Once you are stable on this, we will see you every 3 -6 months in clinic. Every time we see you, we will measure your BP and your weight and height as some of the medications might affect these.
At your reviews, you and your family will be able to let us know how you are doing at school and at home and also tell us if there are any other problems. Sometimes we need to go to school meetings and discuss ways your teachers can support you in school.
What other support is there for families?
Through regular reviews we can assess your mental health and if you have additional problems e.g. anxiety, sleep problems, OCD, Tourette`s, we can refer you to another member of our team who specialises in treating these.
If we all feel there are relationship difficulties within the family, we can refer you to our family therapy team who will work with you.
We hold an annual parent/carer psychoeducational event which all parents/carers of children and young people with a diagnosis of ADHD are invited. They have the opportunity to talk with all the members of the ADHD team as well as an educational psychologist and community paediatrician.
How long to I have to come to ADHD clinic?
Most young people grow out of their symptoms by late adolescence but some still have symptoms into their early 20`s. We will offer you a service up to your 18th birthday if you need it. Sometimes you might still need medication when you reach adulthood so we would then refer you to the adult ADHD clinic which is based in Bristol.
Please watch a film about ADHD made by CAMHS participation group and members of the CAMHS specialist ADHD team: (link to film)