Emma Watson, Jim Carrey and Michael Phelps have it, but what should you be praying if your child has ADHD?

Does your child have ADHD (otherwise known as VAST or DAVE)? Or do you suspect that they might have? Or do you support a child or young person who does? Then this is for you!

But wow, ADHD, VAST, DAVE, there’s a whole lot of acronyms right there isn’t there? Let’s start by a quick unpacking of what they stand for and then a little look at what that all means…

Understanding the terms

ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

VAST = Variable Attention Stimulus Trait

DAVE = Dopamine Attention Variable Executive-dysfunction

Still none the wiser? I don’t blame you, it’s a confusing area, but have a look at this video clip that might help you understand the different terms, common threads of ADHD, and why there might be a changing of the way we talk about ADHD: Connor DeWolfe ‘Is It A Better Name?’ https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWKGskcAiAI/

So common threads for children and young people with DAVE can include:

• · Difficulties regulating their attention, with a shorter attention span, and reduced ability to concentrate and pay attention to other people
• · Hyper-focus, an intense fixation on a favourite activity or interest
• · Sleep too much, or not enough, both of which can adversely affect them
• · Everything can be all or nothing, fully focused on favoured things but forgetting everything else. Having difficulties being organised or following instructions
• · Over stimulated or under stimulated, finding it hard to regulate their senses
• · Lack dopamine, a chemical in the brain that gives feelings of motivation, pleasure, and satisfaction.

(There are more common threads than these, for more in-depth info visit some of the web links at the end of this article).

If you still prefer to use ADHD or VAST then that’s absolutely fine, each person can individually use whatever they prefer, but for the rest of this article we’ll talk about DAVE. No, not the TV channel where you watch Red Dwarf or old series of Top Gear, but Dopamine Attention Variable Executive-dysfunction… we’ve kind of dropped the ‘dysfunction’ bit, and it’s not a great word to use anyway, a bit like ‘disorder’… these are terms that remind us of the difference between the ‘medical model’ and ‘social model’ when talking about disabilities, differences, and diversities. “Remind us?” you say… “We’ve not heard of the ‘medical model’ and ‘social model’ before, so what’s that all about?”

OK, so here’s the difference and why it really matters.