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ADHD Parent Support Group

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Stockport Parents of ADHD Children in Education

SPACE Stockport is a support group for parents and carers of children and young people in the Stockport area with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and associated conditions. The SPACE committee members are all local parents, who have children with ADHD.

We hold regular meet ups, which are an opportunity to talk to other parents who face the same challenges, in a relaxed and informal way. 

What is ADHD?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological condition which is commonly characterised by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. ADHD Inattentive Type, sometimes referred to as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) is commonly characterised by inattention and impulsivity.

The term Attention Deficit can be misleading as it suggests that those with ADHD / ADD have a lack of attention, when the issue is usually that they have inconsistent levels of attention and difficulty controlling where it is directed. At one time ADHD was considered to be a condition which only affected male children. This is now known to be incorrect, but unfortunately the stereotype of unruly little boys continues to affect the diagnosis of girls and adults, particularly those without obvious hyperactivity.

INATTENTION

Easily Distracted
Difficulty Organising
Loses or Forgets Things
Difficulty Following Instructions
Doesn’t Appear To Listen

IMPULSIVITY

Speaks & Acts Without Thinking
Interrupts
Calls Out in Class
Acts The Clown
Rushes Through Work

HYPERACTIVITY

Fidgety
Regularly Taps, Fiddles, Touches
Restless
Always On The Go
Takes Risks

SPACE Parent & Carer Meet Ups

Our meet ups usually take place at Funky Monkey on a monthly basis and we hope to restart them soon.

Funky Monkey Coffee Company
175 – 177 Bramhall Lane
Stockport
SK2 6JA

 

Information For Parents

There is a lot of misinformation about ADHD which can be confusing, especially for those with a recent diagnosis. Here at SPACE we provide helpful information which allows parents to make informed decisions and signpost useful services.

There is no charge for parents or carers to attend our monthly meet ups, join our online community or attend guest presentations.

 

Raising Awareness

Here at SPACE we are committed to raising awareness about ADHD and fighting the various myths and damaging stereotypes associated with it

The more we understand the condition, the easier it is for us to help and support our children. Knowing the facts is also helpful when dealing with other people who have regular contact with our children such as relatives and teachers. Without an accurate understanding of what ADHD is, it can be difficult for them to understand why our children behave the way they do.

What is ADHD on Biteable.

Latest News (further content is available on our blog)

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

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This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week, where those with ADHD and other conditions such as Autism, Tourettes Syndrome, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia raise awareness and celebrate the positive elements of being neurodiverse.

Claire will be delivering a free online session called Myths around ADHD organised by ADHD Wise UK

Free tickets are available from Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/myths-around-adhdneurodiversity-tickets-145906800167/

Happy New Year – Happy New Lockdown

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Welcome to 2021 and less than a fortnight in, it looks as though, as parents, we’re set for at least a few more months of disruption.

For the first January in many years, we don’t have a full year’s worth of face to face meet ups in our diary, because at the moment we have genuinely no idea when we’ll be able to walk through the doors of Funky Monkey, order a coffee, sit down on their comfy chairs and chat to other parents and carers.

Whilst most face to face activities have moved online, we haven’t been able to do this with our meet ups. As a parent and carer peer space, we simply have no way to ensure that conversations wouldn’t be overheard by people in the background if we “just used Zoom instead”, so in order to maintain confidentiality and ensure that our usual safeguarding practices remained in tact, we held our breath and waited. Our private Facebook group has however remained open as a safe space for discussions.

When the first lockdown kicked in all those months ago, we assumed that our private group would be unindated with parents and carers needing support but instead we’ve found that the group has been quieter than usual. There could be a number of reasons for this but it appears that a large portion of the explanation is that when you take school attendance out of the equation, some of the stress that comes with parenting a child or young person with ADHD simply disappears. The peer group drama, the issues around detentions for late attendance or a lack of equipment, cease to be a daily discussion if children don’t go to school every day. When bullying, issues with individual teachers and school bus incidents are not part of every day life, it seems that parenting changes. I don’t personally think that this means parents are having a lovely time day in and day out, just that the challenges are different.

As a child, essentially our life is very focused around what happens at home and what happens in school, and as parents our home-life is heavily influenced by the schools our children attend and their experiences there. We’re interested to see how this changes things for our families and we’d love to know more about the ups and downs.

We’ve decided that although we can’t hold our usual meet ups online that we will do some form of online event each month to try and replicate the info share that usually takes place at the start of our meet ups. We’re currently working out the best way to do that. Facebook Live has been suggested as a good idea because it doesn’t require anybody to log in or master video calling, Facebook is also good at prompting people with reminders, Facebook rooms is also a possibility however there are downsides. Both of these options require anyone attending to use Facebook and we know that not all our families use that platform, so we’ll give it some thought and let you know what we decide to go with.

Happy New Year

Claire

spacestockport

SPACE provides information about ADHD. Set up in 2004 to support parents and carers of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder #ADHD

SPACE Stockport ADHD

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