On air with BBC Radio Stoke

Hello again.

At the time we won Pitch Your Project, ADHD awareness week was on the horizon. This was a golden opportunity. We hoped that our newly acquired status would enable us to shout even louder and strengthen the fight for our cause. With this in mind, we wrote and sent a press release in to BBC Radio Stoke. This was then followed up by parent volunteer, Paul Glover with a phone call. It worked! Paul was interviewed, a broadcast went out and we all spent the day tuned in to the radio station.

From a parent’s perspective, Paul was able to give a detailed account about ADHD to a massive audience and explain how it had affected his son and his family. He also talked about the controversial drug – Ritalin – which is often used in the treatment of this condition and was able to speak positively about how it had helped his child.

ADHD can seriously affect a child’s ability to achieve at school and many become excluded. Following a survey, The National ADHD awareness week campaign was launched by ADDISS, (The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service), to call for:

Better understanding of why ADHD children behave as they do and greater acceptance of their needs
Improved access to resources and support for children with ADHD and their families
More focus within the school system to ensure the Government pledge that ‘Every Child Matters’ also applies to ADHD children

Again from personal experience Paul was able to reiterate these points in his very own words making an impassioned plea for the Government to be more supportive and raise awareness that educational needs for children with ADHD should be of equal importance to those with literacy difficulties.

Let’s hope that some of those listeners out there will now have a deeper insight and be able to acknowledge the plight of not only the children affected by ADHD but also their families.