ADHD Awareness Month - October 2020

This month is ADHD awareness month. You might be thinking; I’ve heard the word ADHD a lot…. but what does it mean?

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. This is when some people find it difficult to maintain a degree of attention over a prolonged period of time. Rather than asking ‘sorry, I’ve lost you there, could you repeat that?’, they might choose to find something else, often more active (hyperactive) to do instead.

ADHD awareness month aims to raise awareness of ADHD, remove the stigma and highlight the available support that enable individuals and families to thrive with ADHD. In this blog, we want to help people understand how ADHD can affect young people on a day-to-day basis and highlight the positives of having ADHD, which are sometimes forgotten. We also want to explain how we support these young people at One-Eighty in the work we do.

How can ADHD affect young people?

ADHD affects people in different ways and to different degrees, everyone is different. We will explore how ADHD can affect young people in aspects of their life:

• School

  Young people with ADHD can sometimes find it difficult in school. This might be because they find it hard to maintain attention across the school day and when doing homework - they can often choose to do other things over work. However, some young people with ADHD have large amounts of energy and can channel this into their school work. Also, young people with ADHD can be very creative. They can see things differently to others and think outside the box.

• Friendships

  Young people with ADHD can find it difficult to make friends. This might be because they can act impulsively or not pick up social cues. ADHD can also help young people be really compassionate towards others. Having potentially felt different to their peers, they can understand when others might do too and be very supportive.

• Mental Health

  Some people with ADHD can be left feeling out of control. They might think others do not understand what they are going through or criticise them unnecessarily. This can be really difficult to manage. If your young person is finding their mental health difficult to manage, you should get in contact with their school or GP for additional support.

How does One-Eighty support young people with ADHD?

At One-Eighty, we have worked with many young people who have ADHD, supporting them to manage their mental health, self-esteem and relationships. We recently worked with a young person with ADHD to focus on identifying her strengths to build her self-esteem. Together, we looked at celebrities who had ADHD, their attributes and how they became successful. This increased her belief in herself and helped her realise the positives of having ADHD by looking at her role models.

With another young person, we focused on building a toolkit of resources he could use to manage his anxieties. He enjoyed making a calm jar and balloon buddies and was able to play with these to distract himself when he was feeling worried. This technique also helped him to settle into his secondary school.

We have many more examples particularly as each intervention is tailored specifically to the young person, focusing on their greatest area of need.