Long term effects of an ADHD diagnosis?

Tom - I think one area that's becoming increasingly well understood at the moment is the psychological impact of an ADHD diagnosis for a child. And so, increasingly, I meet children now that are in the receipt of a diagnosis and potentially, taking medication. And I think as we start to see that affects taking cause over a longer term and the psychological impact of that diagnosis becomes clearer. So, research now indicates that children who have received an ADHD diagnosis may perceive themselves to be less able than their peers. Or it may mean that they perceive their behaviour to be uncontrollable. So, I can't go from this situation and that's because I have ADHD. As soon as children start to locate the source of their difficulties outside themselves and it means they don't think it's worth trying for example or they're less likely to take responsibility for that success and failure. And clearly, in school, that's a difficulty.

Hannah - Thank you, Tom Hughes, Doctoral Trainee Educational Psychologist at Birmingham University. If you've got any burning questions about your brain and the nervous system, just email them to neuroscience@thenakedscientists.com, you can tweet us @nakedneuroscience, or you can post on our Facebook page, and we'll do our best to answer them for you.