On this page:

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This page will give you lots of information about the ADHD Service at St George’s Hospital.

One of our service users, Kate, is going to help us answer any questions you may have. Kate was 7 years old when she was diagnosed with ADHD by our team. She has offered to tell you about her experiences.

Here are some questions that we often get asked by young people:

Q. Why am I going to see a nurse or doctor?ture1

Q. What will the nurse or doctor ask me?

Q. What does having “ADHD” mean?

Q. How does medication help?

Q. Where can I get more information about ADHD?

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Q. Why am I going to see a nurse or doctor?

Some children are asked to come to see us by their teachers or parents/carers. These adults might have noticed you are finding it difficult to concentrate at home or school.

The nurses and doctors in our team work with children and their families who may have:

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What to expect at the appointment?

The nurses and doctors will ask you and your parent’s questions about how you are finding things at school and home.

This will just be a chat and nothing to worry about. There will be no tests. There are toys all around the room that you can play with whilst everyone talks.pl


What does having “ADHD” and “ADD” mean?

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ADHD affects the way your brain works. Having it is a bit like having a “racing car brain”.

piure1It means that it can go really, really, really fast.

The problem is, it sometimes goes a bit too fast and the brakes don’t work so well.

Children with ADHD might find it hard to pay attention in school because their mind is zipping around all over the place, bursting with new ideas. That is great!

But sometimes, children might need some help to slow it down so that they can look after their racing-car brain.

Doctors can give children some medicine that can sometimes help with this.

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This video shows a helpful way of understanding ADHD:

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ADD also affects the way your brain works. The difference is that a child with ADD is not as hyperactive as a child with ADHD.

Some children describe it as like getting lost in a big daydream, like being asleep but with your eyes still open.

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Daydreaming can be really fun, and some children with ADD have brilliant imaginations. This might be something that children don’t notice they are doing.

When this happens, it can be a bit tricky because they might not be paying attention to what is going on around them.

Doctors can give some medicines that can sometimes help with this.

 

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How does medication help?

The doctor or nurse might suggest that you try taking some tablets. This can help you to concentrate and focus better. You might try different ones until you find the right tablet for you.

Here is a video that can help explain how an ADHD brain works and how medication works:

ADHD tablets can come in different shapes and sizes. Kate thought it would be funny to give them all characters:

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Where can I get more information about ADHD?

If you would like to talk to us more about ADHD then we would be happy to see you. You might also like to check out the links below. There are lots of websites and videos available to help young people understand ADHD. We think these ones are good:

Websites

Young Minds

Kids Sleeps Doctor

Apps

Mindshift app

Videos

Books

review_survivalguideThe Survival Guide for Kids with ADHD, by J.F. Taylor