ADHD
What is ADHD?
ADHD is a form of neurodivergence – it stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and it describes a difference in the way our brain develops. If you have ADHD you are more likely to experience hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattentiveness.
ADHD is not a mental health condition or a learning disability, although people with ADHD can have both, and there can often be a correlation between ADHD and autism. ADHD can present differently in different people, and it is important to remember that you are unique, with your own strengths, challenges, temperament and personality.
ADHD can be formally diagnosed by a specially trained doctor, or another trained professional. Some symptoms of ADHD can resemble things that people who are struggling with their mental health might experience, and for that reason mental health professionals are sometimes involved in the assessment process.
There’s lot of research around why people have ADHD and there might be a number of causes. The specific genes associated with ADHD are still being explored, and it could be that there is more than one gene involved, explaining why people with ADHD can be so different from each other.
Some people with ADHD are the only ones in their family. Other families have a few or many family members who have ADHD or other kinds of neurodivergence.
There are also correlations between having ADHD and having a diagnosis of epilepsy, having a brain injury or having a premature birth.
We are getting better at recognising ADHD in groups of people whose needs may have been missed in the past, such as girls and people from different ethnic groups. This is why it might seem like there is an increase in the number of people with ADHD in our society. There is still a lot we don’t know about ADHD and research is ongoing; for example, there’s not a lot of research about ADHD for people who don’t identify as male or female.
ADHD Myth Busting
- There is no evidence to suggest that ADHD is caused by your diet
- ADHD is not due to poor parenting or naughty behaviour
- ADHD is not due to too much screen time
- There is no evidence to suggest that ADHD is caused by medication
- You don’t grow out of ADHD
- ADHD is a disability
The symptoms of ADHD are divided into three groups : inattentiveness – having trouble focussing; impulsivity – not thinking before saying or doing things; and hyperactivity – feeling really active and restless.
Common signs of ADHD include:
- feeling like you can’t sit still or feeling fidgety, especially in quiet spaces
- talking a lot and interrupting people, sometimes with things not relevant to the current conversation
- finding it hard to focus for a long time or finding you hyperfocus on a task and forget about everything else
- finding it tough to wait your turn
- struggling to concentrate or getting distracted easily, even if it’s something you find really interesting like a good film
- people thinking you’re not listening
- finding it hard to follow instructions
- finding it tough to make or keep friends, and struggling with feeling rejected
- struggling to organise things or often losing things (such as your keys, phone, water bottle, lunchbox, PE kit)
- acting from an emotional state, which you might regret later
- having little or no sense of danger
- being impulsive or saying and doing things without thinking
- rushing through tasks and missing important details
- flitting between lots of different activities instead of focusing on one at a time- this can often feel tiring for people with ADHD and those around them
- forgetting things, such as your homework or plans with friends
- experiencing time-blindness, where you struggle to predict how long something will take, which can often lead you to be late
- enjoying exciting and potentially dangerous activities such as climbing
- acting before realising the danger, such as having poor road safety, and being easily influenced by others
- Feeling like you constantly need to be on the go, and being more energetic and excitable than others
People experience ADHD differently and you might have signs that aren’t listed above. In the right context and with the right support ADHD traits can be a positive part of your identity and personality – and it can make you super passionate about different things. Many people with ADHD grow up to do great things in life.
Diagnosing ADHD
An ADHD diagnosis is given when the symptoms are having significant impact on your quality of life in lots of different areas (this is why it’s really important that we have information from your school, college, or workplace if you are assessed), and where these symptoms have been present since you were a young child. Find out more information about ADHD assessment and diagnosis.
Receiving a diagnosis might mean that medication is suggested as a tool to help you manage your symptoms, though it’s important to remember that this isn’t to ‘cure’ or ‘fix’ you. Find out more about ADHD medication.
If you find your ADHD is stopping you from doing everyday things, talk to your GP or someone you trust.
Some young people with symptoms of ADHD may use substances, such as alcohol or other drugs. The relationship between ADHD and substance misuse is a complex one, and it is very difficult for professionals to assess a young person for ADHD if they are using substances.
Get further support with substance misuse.
Related to ADHD
Advice to help me
Here are some strategies that you might find helpful to manage daily life, regardless of whether you have a formal diagnosis or not. The important thing is to find what works for you.
Some ideas around organisation:
If you are struggling with remembering things you need, or losing things regularly, try using visual reminders in places where you’ll definitely see them – for example, you could put a sticky note on the front of your fridge reminding you to take your packed lunch, or a note on top of your schoolbag to remind you to take your books.
Using alarms can be a really good strategy for remembering things like eating and drinking, or as a reminder of when to leave or change task, if you tend to get hyper focused on one thing. It helps if you work backwards and set alarms for the different sections of what you need to do. For example, if you need to leave the house at 2pm, you could set an alarm for 1.55pm to make sure that you’re nearly ready, an alarm for 1.30pm to start getting ready, and an alarm for 1pm to have some lunch. You might find this makes getting out of the house on time feel less anxiety provoking.
Some ideas around concentration:
If you are struggling to focus because you’re feeling restless, try and build in some movement into what you’re doing. If, for example, you’re doing homework, you could try getting up to do some star jumps or sitting on a spinny chair so you can move around a little without losing focus. If this is hard to do where you are, you could try having a subtle fidget toy to play with- like a tangle or some Bluetac – or doodling repeated patterns as you listen to somebody speak.
Body-doubling can be a really helpful. This involves working on a task with somebody else in the room, who is working on their own stuff. Even though you might not be talking to each other, having another person’s presence can make you feel more accountable and less likely to get distracted. If there isn’t anybody around, you could try facetiming or video calling a friend, or listening to a podcast or ambient cafe sounds so that it feels like there’s other people in the room.
If silence makes it hard to focus, play around with other sounds to see what could help. It might be that you prefer a busier environment, or listening to music. If music is too distracting, listening to white noise like the sounds of rain or a fire crackling could be a good alternative. You can create your own relaxing sounds on Atmosphere app.
If there’s a task that you are struggling to get started with, try breaking it down into smaller chunks of time. Pick a starting point, for example 5 minutes, and say to yourself, ‘I’ll just see what I can get done in this time’. After the 5 minutes is up, you may find that you’ve gotten over the first hurdle and feel able to carry on. If not, give yourself a small break and try again – even if it feels like progress is slow, you’re still managing to do more than you were before! There are apps that could help you, for example Study Bunny, Focus Friend and Flora.
Think about how you can give yourself little rewards whilst you work – this can be especially helpful for boring tasks. Only having a reward at the end might not be enough of a motivator, so could it be that you eat your favourite snack whilst doing your homework, or listen to your favourite band whilst tidying your room? Trying to find ways to make these tasks more fun can be really helpful for your motivation to do them.
Some ideas around relationships:
If you feel able to, being honest with friends about how your ADHD impacts you could be helpful for your relationships. For example, you might want to say things like ‘I’m sorry, I got really excited about what you were saying and interrupted you! Would you mind repeating it?’. You shouldn’t feel pressure to explain yourself but sometimes talking about how things work for you can mean that people understand better, so they don’t make as many assumptions or judgements.
Try looking into social media accounts or peer-support forums created by and for people with ADHD. Often, people will share lots of ideas which work for them which you might not have thought of otherwise. Having this understanding from others with ADHD can help you feel seen, and these spaces can be really useful for sharing and exploring new ways to help yourself with your difficulties, and help you explain your needs to people around you.
There can be a lot of judgement when people with ADHD try to create strategies to help. You might be told that ‘you’re overcomplicating things’, and that you ‘just need to do it’ – it can be really hard to hear this when you’re trying to make positive changes, but it’s important to remember that you will understand yourself better than anyone else. Being able to creatively find solutions to a problem is a really valuable skill.
Some ideas about managing emotions
Try and find an activity which helps you feel completely absorbed – this can help you deal with stress and can be a form of mindfulness. It might be a really high energy activity, like climbing or a fast-paced sport, or it could be something which requires a lot of attention to detail, like playing a video game or doing some craft. These activities which help you ‘get out of your own head’ can be really beneficial for your overall wellbeing and sense of calm.
Remember…
The most important advice for those struggling with ADHD is to work with your brain, not against it! There is often lots of good advice out there and so it can be frustrating if these strategies don’t work for you, but don’t be disheartened. Sometimes, small tweaks to help personalise a strategy can make all the difference! For example, people might suggest to you to use a planner to keep organised, but if this is something you lose often, then the notes app on your phone might be a better place to write down dates and to do lists. Personalising strategies to your own needs and interests can make them much more likely to stick!
Who can help me?
Accessing support in your local area, or on-line, may be useful if you are experiencing mental health difficulties that are having mild or moderate impact on your daily life . Based on your symptoms, age and where you live, the support below might be useful for you:
Thrive hubs can help you understand your options.
Our service is designed to advise, guide, signpost and get help for young people within Manchester currently facing mental health and emotional wellbeing issues.
Learn more about Thrive HubsFor young people looking for emotional wellbeing support, this website offers a range of information and services, including counselling, psycho-social support, and cognitive behavioural therapy.
An on-line resource with lots of advice and information for young people.
We provide mental health support within education settings across Manchester, including primary and secondary schools and colleges
Offering a 10-week Junior Physical Activity Referral Service (PARS) Their Children’s Healthy Lifestyle Practitioners will connect families to fun activities in your local area.
We provide mental health support within education settings across Salford, including primary and secondary schools and colleges.
Stop.Breathe.Think is a mental health charity offering online counselling to those aged 8-21, who cannot afford or access support quickly. No wait times and available nationally, we provide vital support to those who need it right now.
Offering a variety of resources to encourage healthy relationships between a child and their parent is suitable when a young person would like to or would benefit from developing a better understanding of safe, happy, and healthy relationships.
We provide mental health support within education settings across Trafford, including primary and secondary schools and colleges.
Trafford Youth Engagement team delivers a number of services from our Talkshop base in Sale. Talkshop is an advice, support and information centre for young people aged 11 to 19 (up to 25 with additional needs or care leavers).
CAMHS Services
A referral to a CAMHS service might be useful if you are experiencing mental health difficulties that are having a significant impact on your daily life. Based on your age, symptoms and where you live, the following services might be appropriate for you:
CAPS supports parents and carers to help their children (under 5) to develop to their fullest potential and be ready for school. This includes promoting improved quality of parent/child relationships; and supporting parents and carers with their children’s social, emotional development and wellbeing.
The Community Eating Disorder Service (CEDS) is a specialist CAMHS community team (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service), for children and young people aged 5 – 17 who may be presenting with an eating disorder or eating disorder difficulties. We provide specialist evidence-based therapeutic interventions to young people and their families, through a range of treatments, as well as physical health monitoring.
Formerly known as the Social Development Clinic, SCAN is a specialist service that supports children and young people aged 3 to 18 years with complex neurodevelopmental differences
We are a specific CAMHS team for young people who may have been involved in the youth justice system. We are based within Manchester Youth Justice supporting Children who may be on a statutory court order or on intensive supervision.