Tales of parenting my son James – Sunday Independent 11th November 2012
ADHD was obvious in young James form the moment he was born, writes Joy Orphen, but now at 12, his life is on course for success thanks to loving care and early intervention.
James McQuaid is bright as a button with an insatiable curiosity about the world around him. Though he likes science, he has a strong artistic bent and he can certainly think outside the box. That becomes clear when you look at the giant card he made for a member of his family, which is proudly displayed at his home near Skerries; it is at least three feet tall and the artwork is vivid and skilful.
It’s typical of this 12-year-old, according to his mother, Patricia, an outreach counsellor who hails from Co. Antrim. “James is very bright; he has a lovely sense of humour; he’s affectionate and he cares so much about the underdog,” she says.
She says James has just started secondary school. Of course. there will be a period of adjustment but he will probably struggle more than most, because he has to contend with a frustrating condition called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is a medical/neurological condition caused by an imbalance of crucial chemicals – noradrenaline and dopamine – in the brain, which can result in concentration and learning difficulties.
However, it is also true that many children with ADHD are, like James, extremely intelligent and go on to lead very productive and rewarding lives. in spite of their childhood struggles.
According to Parent magazine, high-flyers who have had to deal with ADHD include singer Justin Timberlake, chef Jamie Oliver, Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson and Karina Smirnoff from Dancing with the Stars. William Butler Yeats is supposed to have suffered from ADHD while Amadeus Mozart most likely owes his prolific musical outpourings in part to the condition. So, James is in good company.
However, the difficulties James faces should not be underestimated. The signs of ADHD present from birth, according to his mother. “We brought James home from hospital when he was just two days old and already, he was wriggling. That image of him wriggling in his wee chair has stayed with me to this day. My other children were much calmer at that stage,” she recalls.
As time passed, James did not slow down. “As soon as he could, he was flying all over the place. He would pick up one toy then throw it aside and move on to the next one,” Patricia recalls. “And, because of his adventurous climbing, we had to raise the garden fence three times. From the age of two he got into risky situations that weren’t typical of a child that age.”
Patricia said they were not too concerned initially as they thought James was just at the “extreme end” of the lively boy spectrum.
But, because James was taking his time talking, she and her husband Paul, a civil engineer, asked for an assessment by a speech therapist. It took a year to get an appointment. By then James was chatting away and the therapist wasn’t unduly worried about his general behaviour. But when she saw him participate in a group speech-therapy session at school, it immediately became clear James wasn’t like the other children.
“The speech therapist said while she hadn’t noticed his hyperactivity in a one-to-one situation with him, in the group it was very obvious,” recalls Patricia. “He was climbing the walls and moving all the time.”. So, he was referred to the Mater Hospital and, when he was six years old, he was formally diagnosed with ADHD. “We were glad to have an explanation,” says Patricia. It was recommended that James be given Ritalin, which contains methylphenidate, a somewhat controversial drug.
“The decision to let James take Ritalin was enormous,” says Patricia. “I suppose there are mixed messages about it. But it was obvious from the beginning that it worked for him. After just a couple of days he was able to concentrate long enough to sit down and sign his name on a card for his granny. He’s more present and engaging on his medication.”
A spokesperson from ADHD Ireland (formerly known as HADD) says that individuals with ADHD experience a range of problems, including forgetfulness, an inability to manage time, to finish tasks or to conduct social interactions conventionally; it is especially characterised by non-stop activity.
Patricia concurs with this. “The mind of someone with ADHD is very active,” she says. “From the moment they wake, they are like a whirlwind with all that fast-moving brain activity. People with ADHD also have trouble filtering out background noise and this adds to their difficulty in concentrating.”
James compares ADHD to a conveyor belt with lots of words and thoughts on it. For most people, the conveyor belt passes at a leisurely pace allowing them to read the words and to organise the thoughts into coherent concepts. “But with ADHD, the belt goes very fast,” says an articulate and softly spoken James.
This, he adds, causes things to get jumbled and sometimes results in him doing things that are not for the best. But he says his medication slows everything down and that really helps.
He volunteers that one of the positive things about having this condition is that he notices things that other people might miss. “My friend – who also has ADHD – and I can do quite difficult things like brain puzzles on the internet,” he says. Patricia says one of the hardest aspects for people with ADHD is that they are often seen as disruptive or uncooperative, and are constantly being admonished – to sit still, to stop this or that and to conform.
“A child with ADHD can have to put up with a lot of negativity,” she says, adding that’s its crucial to support and praise them for doing the best they can, given their difficult and confusing condition.
There is no doubt that given the love and attention that James enjoys in this big-hearted family he will come out the other end of his childhood intact and all set for success.
