ADHD children ‘threaten suicide’
This finding on how children are trying to cope with the disorder is documented in a social study conducted by academics for the Finglas Cabra Partnership and the Finglas Cabra ADHD Support group in Dublin.
Three mothers whose children had ADHD said their sons tried to commit suicide and one said that her 10-year-old had threatened to kill himself. One mother described how her now 13-year-old tried to hang himself twice when he was just 11-years-old.
One of the mothers, Pauline Hazel, whose son was only diagnosed with ADHD after he was told to leave school when he was 14 years old, said that while medication helped, it was not enough.
More back-up support, including counselling and behavioural therapy, was needed, she insisted.
“My son got depressed and suicidal because of the lack of support for children like him. Children with ADHD feel they are a failure,” she said.
“I want to tell people that ADHD is a real condition that affects genuinely hard-working families.”
The study, to be launched later this month, has called for increased psychological and psychiatric services to be available to children with the condition who are suicidal. It also wants ADHD to be classed as a disability so that parents can seek reasonable accommodations or adjustments to take account of the condition.
The study of just over 7,000 students in Finglas and Cabra, found that 76 were diagnosed with ADHD or attention deficit disorder (ADD).
A further 47 students displayed symptoms of the conditions, a finding that indicated extensive underassessment of the condition.
The principal of one school said schools could not request any supports until a child was diagnosed with ADHD/ADD.
Schools can only refer two or three students a year for a psychological assessment by the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS). However, NEPS cannot make a diagnosis of ADHD/ADD.
Many principals said they felt compelled to advise parents to seek private and paid psychological and educational assessment of their children that can cost hundreds of euro.
A child attending one school, who was put forward for assessment in November 2003, was not seen until August 2004 and the school was still awaiting the assessment report when interviewed for the study in January 2005.
