THE ADHD ICEBERG...
This image below is what we spoke about at the incredible ADHD Solutions UK course I attended the other day in #leicester.
#adhd is so much more complex than what can be seen on the surface. I personally experience much of the below the surface things myself, despite being able to mask so well. Fascinating journey this is & has been so far!
Many a #mentalhealth illness has been diagnosed with so many similar symptoms that are listed here...so many people are missed because in both ADHD & #autism, masking is so common - particularly in females. I am undiagnosed ADHD myself & everything suddenly is beginning to make sense for me...
Even my daughter was missed until she was in her last year of primary school, because everything happened at once & she was so overloaded that she could no longer mask it all anymore. Mum & Dad separating the year before, a close fellow tween friend losing her mum too young, her body developing quicker than her mind was, changes everywhere, last year of the primary she'd known all of her school life, & to top it off, cycles beginning in the midst of pandemic lockdown & transitioning up to high school without any transitions. God I'm glad we got her through it, at times I wasn't sure we would. She is a different girl now 🥹🙏🏽
To think my young lady held so much in for so long as a child...that is a strength that is going to bless her throughout her wonderful life. Nearly age 15 & come through so much already, & now I'm getting to know my own brain more, I'm understanding my girl even more because ADHD is genetic...
I am so grateful to finally have been heard, when I'd been raising my concerns for over half my daughter's life to no avail. Now, finally, she & I are understood. It is such a relief. I cannot recommend ADHD SOLUTIONS UK enough. They have been such an incredible support, I only wish I'd heard of them earlier, when my children were going through such hard times previously. We need more organisations like them.
If anyone is on an #sen journey, for themselves, or for any of their children, please do reach out if you need someone to talk to. I've been there, I am there & I promise, your fight & tenacity does pay off eventually, & it is the most rewarding character & resilience building journey, you can ever be on - fighting for your children's rights...to get the education & support they deserve & need in order to thrive as they should in their lives - to the full.
I see you #mamas & #papas, #parents & #grandparents.
October is #mentalhealthawarenessmonth but it is also #adhdawarenessmonth...
Please, never struggle alone.
💜 Anna Chantal xx
Respect!
