When do I tell my child he has ADHD or do I have to?tia

[ConcernedMomma511]

Hello mom's, is it necessary that we tell our children that they have ADHD and how do I? Without making him feel bad?

[Darinea]

Hi I am not a parent, I am a 15 year old with the condition. I believe you should tell him. Get a book for kids about ADHD and help him understand what it is and tell him its not his fault. Thats what my mum did.

[ConcernedMomma511 in reply to Darinea]

How old were you when your mom told you, I think that's a great idea, Thank you so much!

[Darinea in reply to ConcernedMomma511]

My mum told me when I was diagnosed so about 7 or 8

[eperez18]

I did not tell him my son when he was first diagnosed at the age of 7 but once he turned 8 years old, we had a talk about his diagnosis using books written by authors that also had ADHD. He absolutely loved reading Captain Underpants books and after book 4 I showed him a video clip of Dav Pilkey, the author, talking about his struggles with ADHD as he was growing up and how he has been able to use it for his creativeness. We now have an open discussion about his ADHD and he is learning along with me about ADHD.

[ConcernedMomma511 in reply to eperez18]

I like that idea about getting a book about it, thank you so much !

[reg2018]

It's important that children who are diagnosed with ADHD know they have it. If my child was diagnosed with diabetes I wouldn't hide it from him. He would need to know in or to create good habits for life to keep him healthy. The same goes for a child with ADHD because this condition affects them in all aspects of their life: socially, emotionally, mentally, and intellectually. To not tell would leave him wondering what's wrong with him. Knowledge is power and gives people an answer to why the feel and act differently from others. It also gives them information about what they can do about it and how to deal with it. Good luck!

[ConcernedMomma511 in reply to reg2018]

Thank you so much! This is so helpful and makes a lot of sense, I do agree with you , I just wasn't sure if he would feel terrible about it, but what you say makes a lot of sense to me, this way he will know why sometimes he can't control himself 😞 Thanks again for your advise

[katcald]

I am very open about my son's ADHD. I think If you keep it a secret (from the kids or others) it makes it seem like it's something bad or shameful. Just this morning on the way to school we were talking about how it's something he was born with, just the way one of his sisters was born nearsighted so she needs glasses, and the other was born with curly hair.