S.P.A.C.E. ADHD Group

ADHD Parent Support Group

ADHD parent support

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Claire’s Christmas Message

As we come to the end of the year and all the chaos that Christmas can generate, I’d like to wish a happy and peaceful Christmas to all our families. The hype, excitement and changes in routine doesn’t always suit children and young people with ADHD, so the Christmas holidays can be a stressful time.

There is no right way to be a parent, but there are definitely lots of wrong ways. Techniques that suit many children, may not work with those who are neurodiverse. Much of the parenting advice that our parents were raised with, is at best outdated and in some cases illegal! I hope that our parents trust themselves in the face of well meaning advice from friends and relatives. I hope that they recognise that they know their children, better than anybody else.

Our charity was set up by parents, who looked for support and found that what they needed didn’t exist – so they created it. If you are parenting a child with ADHD, then you are welcome to join us for our monthly meet ups or join our private online community. There is no charge and no need to book in advance. You don’t have to share medical information or provide proof of diagnosis. We are relaxed and informal and do our best to offer a warm welcome.

As a parent I went to my first S.P.A.C.E. meeting after my child was diagnosed with a condition that I’d never even heard of! I know how it feels to be scared to walk into an unfamiliar place, looking for strangers that might help me make sense of this condition. The relief I felt when I met people who understood how this one gorgeous child created so much chaos at home, and who genuinely knew how it felt spending my days fighting both with and for my then twelve year old.

I didn’t realise that night that I’d still be part of that group 20 years later, or that I’d help to support lots of other families and eventually go on to become Chair of this amazing small charity, which was set up by a lady that I’m now so proud to call a friend. That cold, dark, winter night when I walked into the Arden Arms changed my life and I know that S.P.A.C.E. has done the same for many others.

Our goal for 2025 is to continue being there for our families and to make sure that they get access to all the information they need to make informed decisions about their children. The team are here to provide information and signpost to other relevant services and organisations, but one of our biggest strengths is that through our small charity, people get to meet other other parents and carers with similar challenges.

S.P.A.C.E. were here supporting the ADHD community before it was cool. On the one hand it’s amazing that the profile of ADHD has grown and that there are lots of other organisations out there, but unfortunately not all of these organisations are as good as their marketing. We know our own worth, so we focus on our families and continue to do what we do, because being our authentic selves matters and makes a difference.

Here at S.P.A.C.E. we are constantly thinking of ways to raise awareness about ADHD. Our advent calendar is a seasonal reminder about the work we do to help provide information and support to parents and carers.

We have lots of ideas for other ways to share useful content, but at our core, we are a parent support group so we will always put our limited resources into that ahead of generating amazing content for social media. Unlike lots of organisations we don’t have financial targets. We’re an independent charity and our goal is to ensure that any local parent of a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that wants to get information and support knows that we exist. That’s it. We just want families to know that we’re here if they want to join us.

We’ll be at the Dog and Partridge on the second Tuesday of the month throughout 2025, so feel free to pop the dates into your brand new diaries or share our content with friends and family that may be interested.

  • ADHD Advent Calendar
    • Our advent calendar includes a new piece of information every day during the run up to Christmas.
  • Monthly meet ups for parents and carers of children with ADHD
  • Social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
    • We’re also on TikTok, Threads and X but don’t share a great deal on those platforms at the moment
  • Information sessions for those working with children and young people
  • Spotify playlist of artists with ADHD
    • Our Spotify playlist covers a wide range of artists covering everything from hip hop to country

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

Claire

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Why We Don’t Want To Be Kim Kardashian

What does the world famous reality star Kim Kardashian have to do with a small Stockport based ADHD childrens’ charity? The answer to that is very little (as far as we know) other than the fact that we are both harnessing the power of social media to let people know that we exist.

Just like Kim, SPACE Stockport are on Instagram, but if you happen to follow us both, you’ll notice that she has a lot more followers than us and we’re totally OK with that. We are 100% fine with the fact that Kim has over 360 million Instagram followers whilst we only have 848, because Kim’s marketing goals are different to ours.

SPACE Stockport is run by parents of children with ADHD for parents of children with ADHD and as such we won’t be getting any celebrity endorsement deals. We don’t have our own cosmetic products, skincare range or clothing line. We don’t even have our own fragrance, but despite the lack of branded products we are on a mission. We’re on a mission to make sure that Stockport parents of children with ADHD know that we’re here. We are looking for what marketing professionals would call a niche market. If you live in Stockport and have a child with ADHD, then we are looking for you because we want you to know that we exist.

Our marketing goals are quite straight forward. We’re a non-profit organisation so the number of people that attend our monthly meetings and engage with us on social media doesn’t generate us any income. The committee is made up of volunteers, so nobody gets a new BMW if more people join us for a coffee and getting a 100,000 likes on Facebook or a million followers on TikTok won’t get any of us a bonus, but we’re still on a mission. If you are from Stockport and your child, or a child that you care for, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder then we want you to know that we exist, that’s it. That’s our mission.

Parents of children with ADHD are regularly told what they should be doing. We’re told that we are parenting our children incorrectly. We’re told that our children will grow out of it. We’re told that our children are eating the wrong foods. We’re told that our children just need a firm hand. We’re told that ADHD doesn’t exist and that our children are just badly behaved. Parents of children with ADHD are told lots of things. We’re not here to tell you anything. We’re here to provide information. We’re here to share our experiences. We’re here to signpost agencies that we have found useful. We’re here to make sure that you know you are not the only family going through some of the day to day challenges that you face. Even if local parents of children with ADHD never contact us, our marketing mission is that they know we exist, because if they know that we are here, then they know that they can get in touch if they want to.

Using Instagram and Facebook to spread the word about our existence may be relatively new, but we’ve been on a mission to support other parents for almost two decades. The venue has changed over time, as have the volunteers and the parents joining us every month, but the mission has always been the same, to make sure that people know that we exist. Stockport has less than 300,000 residents so if we manage to get a million followers then the chances are that most of them aren’t really interested in us and vice versa. We love having our Facebook posts shared and being retweeted on Twitter because somewhere amongst those extra readers will be more of the people we’re looking for.

If local parents know that we exist, then that means that they know they’re not the only parents going through the challenge of raising a child with ADHD. It means that if they have a bad day, they know that they can vent to us privately on Facebook. It means that they know that there is a network of other parents they can talk to. It means that they can find out about local conferences. It means that we can provide a source of information. It means that they are able to attend our specialist presentations. It means that once a month they can join us for a drink and a chat if they want to.

The bigger picture is that we want to fight the ongoing stream of ignorance about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. We want to dispel the myths and ensure that our children are not penalised by schools for things that they cannot control, but our priority is to support families. If you have a child with challenging behaviour, the playground can be a lonely place. We can’t do anything about that, but when you’ve had one of those days we can be there to reassure you that you are not alone. We can’t do anything about the fact that raising a child with ADHD can lead to family disagreements on the best way forward, but we can be there to let you know that you are not the only family with those problems.

The reason our mission is to let people know that we exist is because if local parents know that we exist, then it means that they know that we’re here if they want us. It means that they know that they are not the only one and some days that’s enough. SPACE Stockport may officially only be three people on paper but we’re part of a much bigger community. A community of other parents who want the best for their children. Kim can keep her 360 million followers because we’ve got each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SPACE Take On The Titan – Sponsored Zipwire

On October the 7th the SPACE Team are travelling to Wales to take on the Titan.

Titan is a four person zipwire that flies 2000 metres down a Welsh valley, which raises the question of why four women, three of whom are terrified of heights, are driving to Wales to put themselves through that ordeal. The answer to that question is that they are raising money for SPACE Stockport, the ADHD parent support group they run.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition which is regularly characterised by hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be challenging, especially if children and young people have problems managing their behaviour or experience difficulties at school.

Despite all the scientific research there is a lot of misinformation about ADHD, which leads to ignorance and negative stereotypes. To help combat these problems and raise awareness of the facts, we’re challenging the misinformation about ADHD by challenging our fear of heights. October is ADHD Awareness month so we decided to celebrate and raise funds for our group with a sponsored Zipwire.

ADHD is still stigmatised and parents and carers often find themselves on the front line. SPACE provides information, advice and support for parents in a friendly open environment, with others in a similar situation.We share information on a variety of topics including school conflicts, medication, and the diagnosis process. We are also able to signpost parents to services which can help them and their children. As a community of ADHD parents we are able to share personal experiences, which can especially helpful for those with a new diagnosis who may feel overwhelmed.

SPACE holds regular monthly meet ups and provides online support, but we’d like to extend the range of services we offer and unfortunately that costs money, so we’re taking on the Titan and we’d appreciate your support. If you’d like to make a donation to our zipwire challenge please visit our Just Giving page where you can donate securely.

If you happen to be in Wales on the 7th of October and hear screaming, don’t worry it’s just the SPACE Team supporting parents, abolishing myths and fighting sterotypes.

Wish us luck.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/s-p-a-c-e/adhd

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Festive Reflections

As 2015 drew to a close and we were fast approaching the school holidays, we started drafting a blog post to wish all our ADHD parents a merry and hopefully stressfree Christmas.

That time of year can be eventful, in all the wrong ways, for children with ADHD. The change in routine, the school parties and pantomime trips, mixed with the general excitement about Father Christmas, can sometimes be a little bit too much for them and as parents we generally get the receiving end of all that.

Christmas plays are a time for fellow parents to give you “that look” if your child fidgets through the carol service. The thing to remember is that they don’t know how hard it is for your child to sit still and if they knew, what we know, they wouldn’t be so judgemental.

The start of the new year and new school term can be a double edged sword. For some families the return to school is a great thing because it means that the usual routine is back,  you no longer have to provide full time referee services for your children and at the very least, our energetic bundles are out of the house.

For other families returning to school means restarting all the playground drama. It can mean that our children are now spending five days a week with the children who bully them (whilst mysteriously, rarely getting into any trouble for it.) It can mean that our children are spending their days with adults who don’t understand them and refuse to make allowances for their active minds and bodies. For some families, having our children at home means that we can control their environment and be in a position to spot the signs early and head off outbursts before they happen. For those families, the last day of the school holidays is almost a sad time because in 24 hours it all changes.

The S.P.A.C.E. group focuses on children in education because regardless of how things are at home, school is a totally different place and as parents we are always affected by what happens there, including the things we have no control over.

So here’s to all the parents whose children go to a school of over a thousand pupils and yet somehow every single member of staff seems to know yours by name. Here’s to all the parents that blushed their way through Christmas plays and carol services. Here’s to all the parents who battled their way through festive family visits and here’s to all the parents who are now back in the swing of a new term and are already looking forward to, or absolutely dreading half-term.

The S.P.A.C.E. meeting dates for 2016 are already on our website and we look forward to seeing some of you at Funky Monkey Coffee Company. Our next meeting is on Wednesday 10th February 2016 at 7.00 pm.