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How I became aware of ADD
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How I became aware of ADD
Back in 1999? or there abouts! I attended a 2 day conference on Asperger Syndrome (A.S) which also covered the topic of ADD/ADHD.
I went to this conference in York, as my son Dan who was age 5 at the time had been diagnosed with Asperger's (High functioning Autism) and was really interested in learning more on his condition and how best to help him cope. I had never attended conferences or lectures before so this was a whole new experience for me, basically these next 2 days would be more enlightening then i'd ever imagined and changed our lives!
There were various speakers at the conference, from different backgrounds. As the conference progressed my partner at the time kept nudging me when ADD was being mentioned as it sounded like they were giving a talk about me - not someone else with ADD, he didn't need to nudge me as I already had tears rolling down my cheeks as I listened to what sounded like "My own life story!"
I was so emotional and couldn't really grasp what was happening, I was in shock, afterall, the conference was aimed at me helping my son, not to realize I had a problem too!
We returned home from York, exhausted, shocked and stunned at the knowledge of... I was an ADD Adult! I learnt from the conference that here, in the U.K, adults are barely recognized or treated by the health proffecionals as they believe, children grow out of this condition (Which is NOT the case) theirfor the U.K are so far behind in knowledge compared to America! So I tried to just put everything to the back of my mind, partly because I was in denial and the other side of me felt..."What's the point in trying to get help for this condition that is not surpossed to exist in adults"
I had this new lease of life in trying to gain knowledge of my son's A.S. I had never researched or been interested in anything before in my life. I considered myself as being bright but not a clever person (no school qualifications) yet, all of a sudden i really WANTED to learn, for my son's sake. I now had a subject that I was interested in and a good reason for learning about it.
It was about 5 months after the conference when I'd won the battle of getting my son statemented at school and other relevent things in place to help him, that I then sat back and came to the conclusion that I cannot sweep ADD under the carpet anymore and that I really did need and want help for my my own problems, especially since I have a son with special needs to care for.
This was the start of my long journey into diagnosis and medication ............
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