Possible ADHD

Sorry long winded post.

I’m having a lot of trouble with getting anywhere for my 9 year old son. I’ll tell you a little more about him.


My son turned 9 in March this year. At a very early age he barely talked and even had speech and language therapy. He struggled with potty training, which took me around a year but still had accidents at night time till he was around 6. He use to be so quiet and placid and barely engaged in social activities with anyone. He then got to around the age of 5 or 6 and completely changed.


He portrays a lot of sighs and symptoms of ADHD and ASD. I did put a referral in for him with CAHMs in November 2020 but he was refused an assessment as his previous school told them they had no concerns ( although they was the ones that came to be with concerns with him, I just personally think they didn’t want the paperwork as he no longer attended that school) so im now going down the route of a family support worker as this is what they advised.


He is a very hyperactive young man and can not sit still and will very often run around, climb, basically anything he can not to sit still. He interrupts people when they are talking and will get very frustrated until someone answer him. He doesnt understand how to take turns in games ect. He can not play quietly and often loses concentration on what he is doing and quickly moves on to something else. He has huge outbursts of anger and very frequently will hit out towards myself and the rest of the family. He also struggles to follow simple instructions that are given to him. He seems to listen but when asked what was said he has no clue and will take things literally. He shows no empathy towards others and will not make eye contact or even engage in conversation with someone he doesmt know. He has very poor self hygiene and every bath time and teeth brushing is a battle. He acts on impulse and does not think before speaking or acting. He has no sense of danger and will happily run out in to the road, jump from heights.

There is so much more that I havent added here.


Feedback I have had from school is that he excels in maths and is working at greater depths in this subject. He struggles with literacy and is really behind. Although school have said that he Is behind due to him not doing school work during lockdow. (Hes only been at this school since October 2020) This is not the case as he has always struggled in these subjects since starting school. Also he will not do any form of school work at home as he believes this belongs at school and not at home. He will also get quite mad when asked to do something at school that he can not do and often sits with his knees up at the desk. He has also told me that he blurts answer out to maths questions before the teacher has even asked the class the answers and does not put his hand up.

So the trouble i am having is hes not showing all the symptoms in school, they are slowly slipping though. Is he masking? I sure know when he’s had a bad day at school as he just lets lose when he gets home.


This behaviour has only gotten worse over the past few years and I am getting know where with help from the NHS or even school.

Can anyone share there experiences with me? I feel like no one is listening to my concerns and I’m getting knowhere.

Thank you

Hi Tanya,

it does sound as he holds it together in school and you see the result of that when he gets home. Your description sounds like he could have autism. Unfortunately it sounds like the only way you will get him assessed is by making a fuss. The SENCO and the paediatrician should be aware that just because a child presents differently school, it doesn’t mean they don’t need assessing. S can appear outwardly calm and college but can be holding it together until he gets home. He wears a sports tracker that measures his stress levels, so I can see how he has felt during the day. (He has problems with introception and so has difficulties identifying how he is feeling or relating it to possible causes.) Can I ask why he moved schools at the age he did?

Whilst you fight for a diagnosis (and you might find an advocate or the National Autistic society helpful with this) I suggest you start implementing autism strategies at home, they won’t hurt even if he turns out not to have autism - many children respond well to them and they should make home life easier.

Melly1