26. Read first
Before any reading, any forms, any appointments, three things parents of newly diagnosed children say they wish they had heard in the first week.
1/3 It isn't your fault.
ADHD is not the result of bad parenting, screen time or anything you did or didn't do. It's a difference in how the brain regulates attention, impulse and emotion, your child was born with this wiring. They don't grow out of it, but with the right scaffolding around them, they really can thrive.
2/3 Girls get missed.
Boys tend to get referred for hyperactivity. Girls more often daydream, people-please, and hold it all together at school, only to fall apart at home, so they slip through. If your daughter is "struggling but somehow coping", that's worth a closer look.
3/3 Diagnosis is a door.
It can lead to support at school, an EHCP if needed, exam access arrangements, benefits, and treatment options. What it doesn't do is change who your child is, they're the same person tomorrow as they were today, just with a map on how to move forward.
Written by Rich, who has ADHD. This guide is information, not medical advice. How this guide is written · Need help now?