13yr old son has been diagnosed with ADHD

[hays]

Hi,
I was wondering if ayone can tell me if they have been in the same situation. My son has been diagnosed with ADHD, and will be on the drug 'concerta'. I've been told that most grow out of ADHD by mid to late teens so i'm hoping that this wont be an issue for our medicals.
Has anybody applied with this on their medicals and been granted or refused a visa because of it?
Hays

[The.Colebecks]

Hiya

If you are not using an agent and are particularly worried, I'd suggest getting in touch with one who specialises in medical issues such as Peter Bollard or Mark Webster - their details can be found here www.themara.com.au

Here are some links regarding ADHD management in Oz

http://www.adders.org/ausmap.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/health/library/adhd_ff.htm
http://www.adhd.com.au/
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/C...01/01cib11.htm

All the best.
Karen x

[hays]

Karen and Jo, thanks for the replys. I'll call an agent when we're ready to apply and see what they say. It may not matter, it may be really important to them, you just never know!
hays

[cartertucker]

Originally Posted by hays

Hi,
I was wondering if ayone can tell me if they have been in the same situation. My son has been diagnosed with ADHD, and will be on the drug 'concerta'. I've been told that most grow out of ADHD by mid to late teens so i'm hoping that this wont be an issue for our medicals.
Has anybody applied with this on their medicals and been granted or refused a visa because of it?
Hays

Hi there, I was doing a search on ADD & found your thread. My son was diagnosed when he was 5years old & is now coming up 16. He is no longer on medication & will be leaving school at Easter (09) So I do have a slightly different situation.

But im wondering how you got on, did you speak to any agents, has it caused any problems with your application?
Kind Regards,
Kelly.

[KazzE]

Hi

My son is ADD no H - he is 22 and stopped taking his medication, Ritalin when he was about 16, before his GCSE's I would say he still displays ADD behaviours especially when tired and under stress but he has learnt to recognise when he is getting wound up and deals with it really well. He has all sorts of stratagies for remembering things and copes much better when he is in a regular routine, change can still be a problem but as I said he deals with it much better now he is older.

We found that diet can affect him, he is so much better when his diet is good with little or no addatives and a protein breakfast wth some fat gives him a much better start to the day than cereal, a lean bacon sandwich on wholemeal bread or peanut butter on toast.

I don't think it should be too much of a problem as it does not nessessarily mean long term medication anddon't think the medication is that expensive. But it would be worth taking advise from one of the experts just to give you peace of mind.

Hope this helps

Karen X

[Quoll]

I wouldnt be worrying too much about ADHD. Most states dont identify it as a supportable disability in schools - I think SA may be the only one which specifically mentions it. You will find kids with an ADHD diagnosis in almost any school these days and many are on Concerta. In general they dont receive any additional support in the school system just because of the diagnosis. I dont think (but could be wrong here) that an ADHD diagnosis is enough these days for disability support from Centrelink either (they tightened up the rules a while ago) and that would be good because it wouldnt be considered in the cost to the Aus tax payer.

Concerta is now on the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) so a monthly cost of about $31 so it wont be too expensive for you.