I am the mother of a 17 year old young man who was diagnosed as ADHD aged 6. He had meningicoccal menigitis at 12 weeks old which has left him with adhd & a hearing loss.  The support services here are pretty poor, apart from the psych nurse who sees him at clinic twice a year, and the school have not been supportive or understanding.  He tries hard at everything he does but still has difficulties holding his concentration for any length of time.

As time has gone on we had tried so many different ways of helping him - watching his diet, consistant discipline and medication, usually works.  When he was 11 years old he enrolled in our local Sea Cadet unit.  What a change!!! He progressed through the ranks and has completed his bronze, silver & gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards (similar to Eagle Scout Awards).

He is a son to be proud of, even though we still have our off days. Unfortunately, there are no support services for adults in our area and his medication will stop once he leaves school next summer. We are not sure What we will do but I feel that it is important for him to have a supportive family who love him no matter what.

I was once advised, when Chris(my son) was small that if he does something that we wished he hadn't (unless it was dangerous) to sit and think "does it matter?". This has been invaluable advise and has saved many stressful days.

For those with young children, have faith- there is more to life than how we replace the light bulbs that he broke.  There is an end to most of the disruptive behaviour and ADHD is something your child has, BUT IT IS NOT WHO YOUR CHILD IS!!!