New ADHD Campaign 'FAMILY STRESS POINTS' Reveals Morning And Evening Chaos That Severely Disrupts Family Life

A new campaign, "Family Stress Points: Living with ADHD 24/7" is launched today to provide support and advice for parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on coping with the most stressful times of the day. The campaign has been developed with the support of ADDISS (the National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service) as well as Consultant Clinical Psychologist Dr Tanya Byron, best known for the BBC TV series "Little Angels".

Research to support the campaign reveals that parents of children with ADHD are looking for more symptom control from current treatments, particularly at the times of day when family life is most disrupted. Early mornings and evenings are known to be the day's key stress points,¹ but there is a 'gap' of up to 27% between the levels of symptom control doctors believe treatments are giving throughout the day and the real-life experiences of parents.²

Key findings from the research include:

• 85% of doctors expect symptoms to be controlled from 8-9am, whereas 62% of parents agree that this is the case²
• 60% of doctors expect treatments to still be effective from 5-7pm, however just 45% of parents feel that symptoms are under control at this time²
• Although most parents and doctors agree that ADHD medication completely wears off between 7pm and 9pm, for a significant minority of parents (17%), symptom relief has already ended by 5pm²

As treatment wears off, the detrimental impact of the condition is magnified for crucial times of the day, affecting both family life and social relationships.

• Over 90% of parents believe their child's ADHD has a moderate or severe impact on family life²
• 63% of respondents feel that parents generally do not want their children to play with a child with ADHD²

In this environment, parents are looking for much more from treatments: 68% of parents are looking for a treatment that provides 24-hour symptom relief but only 1% believes that this is currently achievable.²

Dr David Coghill, Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Dundee comments, "ADHD is a 24-hour condition and the busiest times of the day for the family - mornings and evenings - can be the most stressful for parents and children alike. As a result, we know that affected children can miss out on friendships, after-school activities and hobbies whilst family time is constantly disrupted. The daily and constant chaos that ADHD can cause impacts not only on the development of the child with the disorder, but also affects his or her siblings, the wider family, school and community."

Dr Tanya Byron, who specialises in child and adolescent mental health said: "Children with ADHD and their families can work together to find practical ways of managing their lives in order to minimise daily disruptions and stresses and maximise quality loving and positive family time. Information and advice for parents gives them the freedom to take action which will benefit all their children and allow them to get the most out of family life."

The new campaign provides support and practical advice for parents on managing the most stressful times of the day, with practical hints and tips and contact details for organisations that can help. The information is available by telephoning 01256 315999 or emailing your name and address to ADHD@familystresspoints.co.uk.

Andrea Bilbow, Chief Executive of ADDISS added: "ADHD affects everybody in the family, not just the diagnosed child and this is especially true at the most stressful times of the day before medication takes effect and after it has worn off. This campaign will hopefully raise awareness of the family impact of ADHD and by giving practical advice and support, will help to take the pressure off some of the day's stress points."

References
1. IPSOS Health, ADHD Survey 2004: UK. July 2004
2. Adelphi Research UK. Family Stress Points ADHD Research. June 2004
3. American Psychiatric Association. DSM-IV Text Revision. 2000: 85-93