Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a diagnosis assigned most commonly to children – though diagnoses of Adult ADHD are steadily increasing in prevalence – who exhibit a range of behaviours such as the inability to concentrate, hyperactivity and being impulsive. These behaviors themselves are not indicative of ADHD which is why working with an experienced professional can be of benefit to examine the root of the child’s difficult feelings or behaviours. It is also important to note that these behaviors must be exhibited across a range of domains, especially both at home and at school to meet the criteria for an ADHD diagnosis. If your child is exhibiting these difficulties just at home or just at school then this is likely to be indicative of particular problems within those settings. Exploring these difficulties with an experienced professional can be the beginning of seeing lasting change.  

At Psychology Sussex, we have experienced professionals who are used to working with children who would fit the profile of someone with ADHD. We are able to work with children, families and schools and provide one-off assessments through to ongoing support.  

You may be noticing some of the following difficulties:

• Problems with sleeping and bedtime; 
• Difficulties in listening to and carrying out instructions;
• Difficulties around organisation;
• Increased levels of stress around certain events like special occasions or shopping

All children can go through phases of increased restlessness or difficulties with attention. It should be said that increasingly more and more of what many people would understand to be normal childhood behaviors – impulsiveness, inability to concentrate as well as the list above – are attracting a diagnosis of ADHD. If misdiagnosed this can have unfortunate ramifications. For example, if your child is ‘acting out’ and the cause of this is, for example, bullying, to diagnose ADHD will be to have missed the underlying reason for the child’s difficulties and behaviors. The consequences of this can be magnified if children who may fit the profile of someone with ADHD, but whose problems are understandable reactions to environmental stressors, are then prescribed medication for a problem which would be better treated by making changes in the child’s environment and exploring with them their difficult feelings and behaviors in an effort to devise a strategy to make these feelings and behaviors more manageable. For all these reasons we provide a service with experienced and qualified professionals to work with children, their, families and schools if necessary in order to offer a tailored service to the needs of each individual child.

The specialists at Psychology Sussex are experienced in assessing children and their families in order to provide a comprehensive formulation of the particular difficulties your child is experiencing, how it may be helpful to understand these difficulties, and what you can do to make things easier and more manageable.  We are also used to working with a multi-disciplinary approach with other professionals both from Psychology Sussex and other organizations and will discuss doing so with you should this be deemed necessary and beneficial to your child. We can also work alongside child psychiatrists who can make formal diagnoses and prescribe medication should this be something that you would like to explore. 

Do not hesitate to contact now to speak to one of our team about how it is Psychology Sussex may be able to help you and your child.