Read on Twitter
A thread ADHD - #ADHD is at times really difficult to manage whether that is for yourself, as a parent, a carer or a professional. #ADHD is still so misunderstood and this makes it harder to manage and explain difficulties to others. I’ve spoken to a few parents who have had 1/
Their child diagnosed with #ADHD and yet they feel whilst this explains their child’s behaviours - it is ‘embarrassing’ when telling others their child has ADHD. There are still a lot of negative assumptions around ADHD - does it exist? Does it explain bad parenting? 2/
The negative attitudes and misunderstanding means children with ADHD are often seen as a ‘problem’ or a ‘disturbance’ this is something many have experienced throughout #Education which is probably due to the lack of awareness and information around #ADHD 3/
The @NHSEngland refers to #ADHD as a ‘behaviour disorder’ which really confuses my mind because whilst the behaviours are the physical features of ADHD it is the way the brain process and responds to situations at that moment
Jumping, running, non-stop movement, impulsive reactions and overly talking are what some will do when they need to concentrate so whilst they are ‘behaviours’ which may seem ‘disruptive’ to society, they are behaviours ADHD people display to focus and cope in situations 5/
Children are often disciplined for showing behaviours which are different to their peers of the same age and some find ADHD children annoying and rude - and look only at the behaviour not what is under the surface and how that child can be supported & understood better 6/
ADHD is a neurobehavioural disorder which impacts individuals daily, it doesn’t just come and go because sanctions are imposed - whilst individuals can learn to manage impulsive responses and potentially respond in different ways - the individual still needs to be understood 7/
There are reasonable adjustments for disabilities in schools but as soon as ADHD is mentioned, it changes dynamics and it seems often the parent is automatically assumed to be a bad parent. This attitude and misconception needs to be challenged 8/
ADHD is sometimes described as a mental health disorder, but this is usually a descriptive given when referring to adults because their behaviour does not fit with societal expectations - but yet many adults have been left with no or minimal support as children and instead 10/
Punished for the behaviours that are seen to be ‘annoying’ ‘causing a disturbance’ or ‘naughty’ - children are so often misunderstood & then medicated to help ‘calm them down’ 11/
I’m not against medication, but if ADHD is neuro then could ADHD medication cause the brain to develop in a certain way which impacts brain develop in adulthood? It is a question that I ask myself but with no answers as there is little to no research 12/
