"She would never rest or stop talking"

"Leanne has only just been diagnosed with ADHD, but looking back there have always been signs. Her first nursery flagged her up as 'hyperactive' when she was only two and a half and my family GP described me has having 'my hands full'. When she was little she would always be really busy all the time and would never rest or stop talking, and she would always be climbing things and had no sense of fear, so in hindsight I should have realised.

"Her nursery gave me information on food intolerances and suggested it might be worth her getting referred but I looked at her diet and altered things and there was a slight change in behaviour. It was very hard; she was very single-minded and was always getting up to something but at the time I was just a young single parent studying and working and put it down to that and her spending time away for me.

"Leanne moved into primary school and her first-year teacher was great. She understood how to keep her busy and occupied which stopped her getting disruptive, but in Primary 2 this all changed. The new teacher constantly complained about her behaviour and Leanne started to refuse to do homework. The situation got worse and although academically she was top in maths and reading she was disruptive and putting other children off from doing their work.
 

"This disruptive behaviour continued with difficulties at both school and at home. She was clever in her classes but she would be bullied or get into fights. One particular low came when she was around eight and was caught throwing chairs across the classroom with another child who had been diagnosed with ADHD. Throughout this time I had asked for referral to the educational psychologist but this was refused as the head teacher thought her defiance came from being 'too clever for her own good'.

"By P7 she was top of her class but angry all the time as nobody understood her and recognised what was going on. She did have an enhanced transition to high school to help her adjust which worked as she was excited by the new start and calmed down and made friends in her first year. This was helped by her new teacher recognising her energy and ability and she did well. But she still struggled throughout high school and was only finally diagnosed once she started at college. Leanne's now getting a lot of help and support in terms of her anger and to help her focus on her studies."