stigma

Member of Scottish Parliament Daniel Johnson is a husband, father, and former business owner.  Mr. Johnson was diagnosed with ADHD almost 6 years ago after his wife brought the subject up.  He discusses how those with inattentive type that have flown under the radar for years begin to almost hit a crisis point once the structures of being at home and in school are no longer there.  As we get older, we begin our careers and start families with all of that comes stress which brings the symptoms more to the forefront.  Our forgetfulness, being so called ‘lazy’, disorganization, among the many other symptoms.  We talk about his route to diagnosis both with his experience with his private GP and now in the NHS system.  This leads to discussion of the lack of resources and the barriers to treatment especially in the more northern sections of Scotland.  Daniel is an advocate for medication as a first step alongside the skills for managing, he has a statement he references often “pills and skills” when discussing the need for combination treatments for ADHD.  Some of the other topics we cover are the disparities in gender, lack of education on ADHD for teachers and physicians for identifying/working with ADHD, need for mental health screening in prisons, and the stigma around medication. 

Article in learning disabilities today: https://www.learningdisabilitytoday.co.uk/2019/adhd-diagnosis-and-medication-gives-msp-daniel-johnson-a-new-lease-of-life

Link to MSP Daniel Johnson’s speech to Parliament June 5 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFEYC3IiKOE

Full debate Portrayal of ADHD Treatment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwVBMnqfbs

I am very leery of adding this next link because this movie disgusted me to the point that I couldn’t even finish watching it.  This is a sensationalist movie that comes off as an ad for Adderall.  The people in the film make Adderall out to be the end all be all for getting an edge in life.  The truth is there are very real side effects for any medication and Adderall as well as all other ADHD medications are no different.  People that have ADHD are NOT taking medication to get an edge in college or their job we are taking it just to help us even the playing field.  Really more to allow us to implement the tools we need to help even the playing field.  Most would not wish ADHD on anyone.  Who wants to be distracted by everything and constantly being late or apologizing?  Anyway here is the link watch if you want  Trailer for the Netflix move Take Your Pills: https://youtu.be/X6Xebo1pngM

Resources Scotland:

Scottish ADHD Coalition

Web:  https://www.scottishadhdcoalition.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scottishadhdcoalition

Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottishadhdco

There is a ton of information and links. The Support and Information tab includes a page with support groups laid out on a map of Scotland so you can find one close to you.  The majority of these groups lie on the southern borders and east coast.

UK Adult ADHD Network (UKAAN): http://www.ukaan.org/

Daniel mentioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the interview here is the link: https://www.nice.org.uk/search?q=adhd+in+adults

ADDers.org

Web: http://www.adders.org.uk/scotlandmap.htm

Also a great resource with information for teens, adults, partners, children, coaching, and even education.

US Organizations:

CHADD: : https://chadd.org/

CHADD has the National Resource Center (NRC) which collects and stores the most up to date information.  They work with CHADD’s Professional Advisory Board to ensure the materials and resources are accurate and scientifically sound.  Regardless of where you are from this will likely be by far your best resource of information about ADHD.

ADDA: https://add.org/

ADDitude Magazine: https://www.additudemag.com/

Online Magazine with articles touching just about every subject related to ADHD for kids, adults, partners, and practitioners.