Psychologist Paul Bushnell interviews mom of three and radio personality, Jane Linley-Thomas and Dr Yavini Reddy (Paediatric Neurologist at Ethekwini Hospital) on ADD/ADHD.
Paul: Jane, tell us when and how your son was diagnosed with ADD?
Jane: Both my sons have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. It has been a lengthy process that has seen both of them have extensive assessments at an assessment centre, and through school reports and a few different paediatric assessments.
Paul: What were you advised to do?
Jane: After a lot of research and teary conversations we went the medication route. This was not something we jumped into lightly; there were many nights of broken sleep and tossing and turning. The big problem was that, the more I fought the medication route, the more their confidence seemed to be dwindling in the classroom and on the playground. I could see them struggling with that fact that they couldn’t get things done.
Paul: I know this is not true for every ADD or ADHD diagnosis, because there are many spot-on diagnosis and treatment for the condition. But, what have you since discovered?
Jane: My oldest son was not responding to the suggested medication, and my mother’s instinct started sensing that something wasn’t right. After a 24-hour EEG it was discovered that he actually has Petit Mal (silent epilepsy). He now takes medication for it twice a day, and is on a very low dose of the ADD meds. The results have been night and day.
Paul: As a practitioner, when I hear your story, I am reminded of one of the first things I was taught in educational psychology – that ruling out as many biological factors when making a diagnosis is so important. Dr Reddy – what is your advice to parents, educators and clinicians working in this area regarding brain scanning as a diagnosis tool?
Dr Reddy: Routine brain scanning is not advised as ADHD is a functional problem not a structural problem of the brain. The brain scanning routinely available in South Africa only looks at structure not function. An EEG is an important investigation, especially if the response to ADHD medication is not great. Absence epilepsy (Petit-mal epilepsy) can present as problems with concentration and learning difficulties.
Paul: I think taking a multi-disciplinary approach to diagnosis is so crucial. We are often in such a hurry to make a diagnosis so that we can start making everything better, that we sometimes miss some of the important clues. Like so many things in life, there is so much value in slowing the hard moments of our life down and considering all of the options before moving forward. So while, ADD and ADHD are real for so many people, we are also learning so much more about the brain and development.
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