Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Many young children seem to have endless energy and struggle with staying focused or organised but children with ADHD may seem unable to sit still, constantly distracted, struggle to wait their turn, think before they speak or consider risks. Some children will also have difficulty falling or staying asleep.

If you think your child may have ADHD it’s a good idea to speak to your child’s teacher, school’s special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) or your GP.

What causes ADHD?

We don’t know what causes ADHD but it does run in families and it is more common in children who were born prematurely or had a low birthweight.

How can I help my child?

Looking after a child with ADHD can be challenging, but it's important to remember that they cannot help their behaviour.

Children with ADHD often struggle with things like getting to sleep at night, getting ready for school on time, being organised and social occasions. This can make life difficult and stressful for everyone, but there are a range of ways we can help you to help your child.

It’s a good idea to ask teachers for help you with adjustments that could make school life easier for your child. Every child is different and what works for one child may not work for yours, but it may be a good idea to asking your child’s teacher to give them a task which allow them to get up and move around during lessons, moving them away from distractions like windows or doors, sitting them at the front of the class to help them focus and breaking down tasks into numbered steps.

Medicines which may help your child can only be prescribed by a clinical psychologist after an assessment and diagnosis.

Strategies and advice

We have a number of workshops which have advice and strategies you can try with your child. It’s important to try new strategies for at least six weeks as it can take time for children to.

Under 5s

If your child is under five years-old our Health Visiting Service provides support and confidential health advice on:

your child’s growth and development
behaviour difficulties, such as sleeping, eating, toilet training and temper tantrums
healthy eating, hygiene, safety and exercise.

Children who are at school

The School Health Service provides support for primary and secondary-aged children with a variety of health issues and can refer your child to specialist services if they need extra help or support.

These include:

daytime and night-time wetting and soiling
behaviour management
healthy eating and lifestyle
emotional health and wellbeing
puberty and growing up
sexual health
stopping smoking
drug and alcohol misuse
sleep
complex health needs.

There are a number of school health teams across Kent. Referring to one of the teams is easy:

0300 123 4496
kchft.schoolhealth@nhs.net
Online referral form

Early Help Service

If you are worried about your child’s behaviour

If you are worried about your child’s behaviour, if you are struggling to cope, if your child is refusing to go to school/college or is having difficulties with family relationships or a bereavement you can contact our Early Help Triage Team.

03000 41 92 22
earlyhelp@kent.gov.uk

Your child’s GP or preschool/school can make a referral on your behalf. More information about can be found at www.kelsi.org.uk/earlyhelp.

Local Inclusion Forum Team

If the staff at your child’s preschool or school need additional advice, training or support to help your child, then the SENCO can make a referral to the Local Inclusion Forum Team (LIFT). You will need to give consent for this to happen.

At the Early Years LIFT meeting the SENCO will share your child’s needs and explain what they have done to try to help your child Other settings/schools and professionals, for example, an educational psychologist or specialist teacher may suggest further strategies that they can try to support your child.

The outcomes of the LIFT meeting should be shared with you by the SENCO so you can work together to set targets and a plan for your child.

More help

Read about the LIFT process

Supporting challenging behaviour

If you need help with supporting challenging behaviour, you may find the advice here useful.

Referrals

If you have concerns please see our Community Paediatrics page for information on how to refer your child.

Useful websites

Frequently asked questions

How long is the wait for an initial assessment and when will my child be seen?

English is not my first language

I have been informed that questionnaires will be needed for my next appointment, when will I receive these?

The majority of our questionnaires are available to access on our website under “Questionnaire links for children open to the service”. These are available to use for both schools and parent/guardians.

If questionnaires have been requested you/your child’s school urgently; you can access these and send them back to us yourself to the following email address: kentchft.qscommpaed@nhs.net.

Once your child is coming up to being due for an appointment, questionnaires will be sent out directly from our service to yourself and school, if this has been requested by the clinician.

Please be aware that the information on many of these questionnaires can be used up to 6 to 12 months after being received. Therefore, an appointment may not be made immediately once these have been returned. Some of our questionnaires are essential for screening and an appointment is not always required upon receipt of these. This should be explained to you at your appointment about next steps.

Even though the questionnaires may not expire for some time, it is still essential that this information is received by the deadlines provided so we can offer an appointment as soon as we are able too.

If your child has changed school or you have changed email address, it is essential that you inform us as soon as possible to avoid delay when up to date questionnaires need to be requested.

Is it possible to have appointments outside of school hours such as after 4pm?

I need to cancel my appointment, how much notice do I have to give?

We kindly ask that you try to give us at least 48 working hours although this may not always be possible, this helps us to appoint another child and helps to keep our waiting lists down. Please be aware that after cancelling an appointment, there may be a significant wait for another, this is due to lack of capacity and extensive waiting lists. If two appointments are cancelled in a row this may result is a discharge from the service.

My child has just had their appointment and I wondered how long I will have to wait for the medical report?

My child has been newly diagnosed with ADHD, what happens next?

My child has been medicated, how do I get a repeat prescription?

Your medical report will be sent to your doctor (GP) who will continue to prescribe the medication under a shared care agreement. Your child will be reviewed by the community paediatrician every three / six / nine months. If there are concerns with the medication you will be asked to see a paediatrician earlier for a possible medication change, but it will be your doctor who will continue to prescribe.

How do I get to speak to a paediatrician, I am worried about my child?

If you child has not been referred to the Community Paediatric Service then you will need to speak to your doctor or preferably your child’s school to be referred.

If you are worried/concerned about a prescription, medication or your child’s medical report, please call 0300 123 4087 and come through to Medical Admin Team or email kentchft.cpmedicaladmin@nhs.net.

Please note we are not an emergency service and have a 72 hour turn around time to respond to all calls and emails. If you and your family need urgent medical attention then you should call 999 or visit A&E immediately.

My child is having violent outbursts and threatening self-harm, can I have an earlier appointment?

This is not a reason to see a paediatrician; it is a reason to go to A&E to be seen by CAMHS. If you need immediate help you can you can contact NELFT (CYPMHS Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Service) on 0300 123 4496, 24 hours per day, seven days per week. (Please note that from 6pm on weekdays and 12pm on Saturdays, all calls will be automatically diverted to the NELFT Mental Health Direct support lines which is a team of dedicated professionals waiting to take your call.)

If you are a patient or have been referred you can contact us to request an early appointment, if we have any availability we would request your reasons to expedite an appointment to be sent into us in writing which will be passed to a clinician for their instruction as to what will happen next.

If my child is not diagnosed with a specific diagnosis, what are the next steps and how do I get support?

If you child is not diagnosed with anything specific, the clinician will explore other issues to see if there is an underlying problem. You can also look at the links for challenging behaviour on our website POD page or contact Kent County Council on www.kent.gov.uk/earlyhelp for Early Help and Preventative Services. If there is no support or treatment available from our service you will be discharged.

We are predominantly a diagnostic service and therefore once you have a diagnosis you may be discharged if there is no intervention or treatment available.