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:
(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.
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