hey all,

ive recently discovered adhd and am waiting for funding to see an out of area expert here in the uk,

i was wondering does anyone have any tips for getting there parents to take an intrest in ADHD, in my case i have suspisions that both my parents are ADHD but i cant get them to take any intrest at all, im sure it would help in many ways for them, me and our realationship if they were better educated on this complicated condition but ive had little luck getting them involved so far i think there just from an era where mental health issues where seen as a weakness of character and definatly never discussed.

the annoying thing is if it was another non mental health related illness they would more than likely be there for me

i guess the best thing would be some great litrature about adhd, any recomandations?

See below for starters:

http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=38
http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=105

http://www.additudemag.com/channel/parenting-adhd-children/index.html

ty for those i have added both parents to the additude mailing list hopefully this will get them thinking though i dont hold up much hope, im tired of trying to deal with on my own so fingers crossed

Sometimes you have to deal on your own. Its not great but that's how it is, i've done it my whole life. But at least we're here if you need to chat. In my experience you can't fix other people, even when the problems seem so obvious to you. Leave reading material with them by all means but let them deal with it (or not) by themselves, trying to get them to come around to your way of thinking will probably lead to frustration.

I think being sensitive to their barriers and shortcomings would be a good start. Sometimes no amount of education, even if it's written perfectly, can ever overcome someone's own barriers. It's hard to say whether they'll understand ADHD for what it is and not some kind of character flaw.

So be patient. Hopefully if you approach this in a non-threatening, easy to understand kind of way, they may be more receptive to the message. But be prepared to back off if you sense they are becoming defensive to it.

Good luck.