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1 April 2022

Member Spotlight April 2022

ADHD Europe in a few lines?

 

ADHD-Europe is an European umbrella organisation which represents self-support patient ADHD advocacy NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations comprising of charities, family support groups, and other grass roots organisations) within Europe. ADHD-Europe has a vision for a truly inclusive European community, where people affected by ADHD are understood, accepted, and valued as contributing members of a diverse European community. Our core values and visions are that everyone with ADHD and their families should:

 

  • be given and treated with the respect for difference and without discrimination
  • be accepted as part of human diversity and humanity
  • have the right to a full and effective participation in society
  • have equality of opportunity for treatment, education and employment

What are your main activities?

 

The purpose of ADHD-Europe is to advance the rights and dignity, and advocate for, all those affected by ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and co-morbid conditions) at various levels throughout Europe from working with the EU parliament by serving as a supportive ADHD platform by

 

  • We hold our Annual General Meetings in our Member countries (AGMs) All members are welcome and if you are interested in joining our membership, please contact us
  • Advocating for the rights, representing the voices and concerns of people with ADHD to foster inclusion by collectively providing members advice, support, guidance. Facilitating the exchange of best practices or information, real-life experiences as well as meta-analytic reviews of a better understanding of ADHD and its treatment.
  • Encouraging and contributing to ADHD researchin collaboration with our global supportive partners, scientists, academics and research consortia which allows us to promote evidence based diagnoses, treatment and care towards ADHD
  • Contributing to policy and legislation, and practical initiatives. Advocating, representing and lobbying at the European Union’s institutions on behalf of the European community for its members on the about ADHD with a view to affecting policy and improving existing legislation on issues connected to ADHD and liaise with other non-governmental organisations sharing similar objectives.
  • Disseminating information and offering support to those who live or are in contact with persons who have ADHD by raising awareness, especially during the global ADHD Awareness Month held every October in collaboration with adhdawarenessmonth.org and the international community.
  • ADHD Awareness for Girls & Women. ADHD Europe members have been shining a light on this topic including ‘Why are girls missed out? Executive functioning, High functioning ADHD, Late Diagnosis & Menopause’, a downloadable eBook about burnout and disseminating theDeclaration about ADHD in Girls and Women,in many languages by our volunteers! Visit our  website adhd-women.eu or follow/interact with us on social media  FacebookTwitterInstagram or Linkedin.
  • Committing together to combat ignorance, stigma, injustice and intolerance that people with ADHD face in their daily life.

What are your main priorities?

 

Our objectives are to promote evidence-based treatment, information and ADHD Awareness at European level, support the efforts of our European Member Organisations  members who provide support for children, adolescents, adults, parents and families as well as for their teachers, employers and other professionals who work with them across Europe. This includes: access to education; medical help and employment; as well as support in adulthood if needed ~ working together towards interventions for children, adolescents and adults living with ADHD, their families, professionals and decision makers.

 

To work towards a better quality of live for people living with ADHD, we liaise and collaborate where possible with European Federation of Neurological Association, Mental Health Europe, Gamian-Europe and the European Brain Council to learn more about European activities, share experiences and collaborate where possible to support  efforts of national and regional ADHD-Europe members.

 

ADHD-Europe has recently published the Access to Diagnosis and Treatment in Europe survey which highlights that despite positive developments, the ideal situation in which an individual with ADHD can access the same standard of care and medication wherever they are in the EU, is still very far from reality.

 

There are different viewpoints on ADHD as a disorder and on its medication in society. Full details of the survey are available here. A summary of the survey is

1) There is an increased awareness of ADHD in adults and the lifelong effects of ADHD in specialists. Unfortunately, there remain circumstances that are in dire need of improvement: Continued long waiting lists for children to access diagnostic services in most member countries; (contrary to the early intervention advice of the NICE ‘gold’ standard).

 

2) There is continued inadequate provision of health services for adults in many countries (while research shows that untreated ADHD can lead to increased risk self-medication or drug addiction, unemployment, increased traffic accidents, etc) and lack of family clinics where child AND parent can be treated simultaneously (as ADHD is a heritable trait).

 

3) Some members report increased medication side-effects for minors using generics, others report positive effects. This urgently warrants unbiased research, including research into comparative medication efficacy and treatment adherence with branded and generic medication. National medicine procurement systems may take mainly price into consideration whilst lacking specialist and patient feedback mechanisms (except for extreme physical side-effects). In addition, ‘out of stock’ situations jeopardise especially youths during examination times.

 

4)National and regional discrepancies exist (especially in rural areas of large countries, island (countries) and Eastern European countries) which are often due to inadequate national funding for mental health service to implement projects and procedures to improve the lives of people with ADHD in their respective communities. Continued cultural “stigma” about ADHD amongst specialists, in the media and the general public. Some member countries even mention that dominant professionals apply a psychoanalytic approach only instead of a multi-modal treatment approach for children and adults with ADHD. There are different viewpoints on ADHD as a disorder and on its medication in society. Full details of the survey are available here.

Where can we find out more?

 

Visit our member organisations website to get various language resource and event information.  Our list of members can be found here

 

Get evidenced based information on a variety of topics by experts on our Broadcasting ADHD Europe Youtube channel to watch these recordings or visit our website for more information about speaker information from our experts who discuss subjects such as “ADHD and the Law” , “How science is helping you, and how you can help science” “Spotlight on new insights on health in women with ADHD” “Pathways to care for ADHD” and much more.

 

Declarations and Campaign resources on our website www.adhdeurope.eu about ADHD in the Workplace, ADHD in Girls & Women and more!

 

Prejudice and misconception about ADHD is explained in this short documentary shines a light on living with ADHD from a personal and a scientific perspective.

 

Visit the International Community awareness website  www.adhdawarenessmonth.org which is our International community hub to bust myths with facts, blogs written by ADHD Experts, articles about Reframing ADHD: Discovering New Perspectives and Sharing experiences.

 

ADHD Awareness for Girls & Women. Visit our website www.adhd-women.eu or follow/interact with us on social media FacebookTwitterInstagram or Linkedin.

 

Click and connect with us on social media:

 

Contact

Jennifer Oroilidis

Communications Officer

For more information please contact

jennifer.oroilidis[at]mhe-sme[dot]org

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