ADHD is REAL – ADDISS families survey
SURVEY BACKGROUNDER

The survey
The ADDISS Families Survey was conducted by ADDISS in July and August 2006. Questionnaires were distributed by ADDISS to parents of children with ADHD who had called the helpline and also through the local affiliate groups and some NHS clinics. 526 responses were analysed on behalf of ADDISS by Branding Science in August 2006.

Diagnosis
Over half of the parents surveyed did not receive any written information about ADHD or medical treatment options for ADHD when their child was diagnosed. Although for almost 80% of children a diagnosis took longer than 3 months from the time of referral, almost two-thirds of parents questioned were happy with the consultation process.

• 45% of parents were provided with written information for families dealing with ADHD, and 37% were given information on medical treatments for ADHD, when their child was / children were diagnosed
• 63% of parents questioned were happy with the consultation process that led to the diagnosis of ADHD
• 58% of children were diagnosed within a year of referral, but only 21% of these were diagnosed within 3 months of referral
• 46% of children of the parents questioned had a co-morbid or co-existing condition

Family
A distressing picture of how ADHD can affect family life was painted by the parents of these children with ADHD. Almost two-thirds of the parents had divorced, separated or experienced marital distress due to their child’s ADHD. Almost 80% of families had been offered no help from Social Services, despite the fact that 15% of the parents had lost their job as a direct result of caring for their ADHD child, and almost half had been treated for depression due to dealing with ADHD in their family.

• 65% of parents of ADHD children have divorced, separated or experienced marital distress as a result of their child’s / children’s condition
• 33% of parents have been unable to seek employment as a result of ADHD in the family and 15% of the parents questioned have lost a job as a result of dealing with ADHD in their family
• 48% of the parents surveyed have been treated for depression as a result of ADHD in the family
• 79% of parents say that neither they nor their ADHD child have been offered help from Social Services

Social impact
The survey results indicate that families with ADHD children often exist on the edge of society. Over half of the parents surveyed reported that their child’s ability to make friends was very affected by their ADHD, with even more children’s ability to keep friends being affected by their ADHD. Almost 20% of children with ADHD have been involved with the police.

• 57% of parents say that their child’s ability to make friends has been ‘very affected’
• 60% of parents say their child’s ability to keep friends for any length of time has been ‘very affected’
• 19% of children with ADHD have been in trouble with the police
• 37% have been admitted to A&E as a result of an incident caused by their ADHD symptoms

Education
Clearly coming through in the survey as one of the key issues affecting children with ADHD is education. Almost half of the children of ADHD surveyed had received a Statement of Educational Needs, with 92% of parents stating that their ADHD child’s ability to achieve at school was affected by their ADHD.

• In 92% of cases, the child’s ability to achieve at school was affected by their ADHD
• 65% of parents state that their child’s / children’s ability to achieve at school has been ‘very affected’ by ADHD
• 42% of children with ADHD (who took part in this survey) have received a Statement of Educational Needs, demonstrating the severity of the condition in relation to achieving in the classroom
• 89% of parents stated that their child’s / children’s performance at school improved as a result of receiving treatment

Treatment
Parents of children with ADHD have tried numerous different strategies, both medical and non-medical, to try and manage their child’s ADHD; from diet changes to exercise, behavioural therapy and prescription medication. However, half of the parents surveyed had not been offered a Parenting Programme as support, and over two-thirds of parents had no access to a specialist ADHD clinic, nurse or teacher.

• 390 of the parents surveyed tried diet change to manage their child’s ADHD, and 54% of these found diet changes helpful
• 89% of parents who tried medication prescribed by their healthcare professional as a strategy ( 376 of the parents surveyed) found it was helpful in managing their child’s ADHD symptoms – 57% found it ‘very helpful’
• Of a total of 526 parents, 256 had tried exercise to manage their child’s ADHD symptoms. 73% of these parents found exercise helpful
• Of the 239 parents who tried behavioural therapy for their ADHD child, 77% found it helpful
• 69% of parents said that they did not have access to any of the following in their local area: dedicated ADHD clinic, dedicated ADHD nurse or ADHD advisory teacher
• 50% of parents surveyed had not been offered a Parenting Programme

Notes:

• All statistics in this document are from the ADDISS Families Survey, August 2006, ADDISS.