Introduction

If you’ve arrived here, chances are you’ve Googled “signs of ADHD in children” a million times and are wondering why your child doesn’t seem to respond to the parenting methods that work for everyone else.

Our family has just been through a big change. After years of wondering if “maybe he’ll grow out of it?”, our teenage son was officially diagnosed with ADHD. 

The diagnosis has been both a relief and a rollercoaster. That mix of emotions, fear, clarity, the unexpected highs and lows, is what inspired me to start this blog and share what we’re learning along the way.

Late Isn’t Too Late

For so long, we felt like we were missing something. At home, we were struggling - behaviour could be very tricky, emotions could swing rapidly and unpredictably, sibling relationships were often volatile, and homework felt like a never-ending battle. 

The period of homeschooling during the Covid lockdown really highlighted some of our son’s challenges to us. We assumed that if there were any concerns, teachers would notice and raise them with us, but he seemed to cope well enough that no one ever suggested an assessment. 

We felt like we were putting twice as much effort into parenting, yet it seemed he was constantly struggling. We weren’t sure whether these difficulties were typical, or something more.

By the time the teen years came around, hormones seemed to intensify everything. Suddenly it became harder to miss that our child was struggling, not just with schoolwork and organisation, but socially too. The gap between him and his peers started to show. Like many families in the UK, we had been on the NHS assessment waiting list for over two years. Eventually, it became clear we couldn’t wait any longer, so we went down the private assessment route. I know that’s not an option for everyone, and I’ll share more about that journey in another post, but for us, it was a step we were lucky enough to be able to take.

The diagnosis hasn’t magically solved everything, but it has given us, and crucially, our child, some understanding. Those quirks and struggles weren’t just “bad habits”, “bad attitude”, “laziness” or “bad parenting”. They had a name. And with a name comes learning, clarity, scaffolding, and hopefully, more compassion (for him, and for us).

This blog is for the parents who’ve ever thought:

“Something feels different about my child”

“Why doesn’t the usual parenting advice work for us?”

“Are we failing, or is there something else going on here?”

I don’t have all the answers (spoiler: no parent does)!

But I do have stories, along with the things that have helped (or haven’t helped!) us.

If you’re parenting a child with ADHD, please know you and your child are not broken. Different, often challenging, but never broken.

Late isn’t too late. And things really can be okay.

PS: This blog isn’t medical advice - it’s purely our story. I am not an expert - just a parent sharing our experiences.

Every child with ADHD is different, so what worked (or didn’t work!) for us may be different for you. But I hope sharing our journey mi9ht resonate and help you to feel less alone.

Explore More

If you’re new here, you might like to start with Our Story, to find out more about our ADHD journey.