UPDATES 

1.  Our next meeting will be on Thursday, 11th February 2010 from 7 to 9 pm.

2.  Dr Arden Tomison, the Medical Director for Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, will be coming to the group meeting on 11th March 2010.

3.  Our ADHD petition on the 10 Downing Street website asking for dedicated funds for NHS ADHD services has now closed with a total of 1,853 signatures.  A covering letter has been sent to Mr Gordon Brown, as well as a 32 page report summarising the supporting evidence; a copy of which can be found here.  Please feel free to download this report and email it to your MP and ask for their support for the petition.  Contact details for MP's can be found here.

4.  Claude Jousselin an MA student at Goldsmith's College is conducting research into the experience of living with ADHD, and the impact of ADHD on people's lives and he would like to hear from as many people as possible.  More information about his research and a brief questionnaire with contact details is available here.

MEETING INFORMATION

We meet on the second Thursday of the month from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at The Pierian Centre.  Our meetings are  friendly and loosely structured. We exchange information, talk about issues related to adult ADHD, and have a good time.  All meetings are confidential, no judgements are made, and no issues are too delicate.  For more details you can either email  us at bristoladhdadults@googlemail.com or telephone Susan at 01761 462553

Our meeting room is lovely; it's furnished as a sitting room, and it's in a 5-storey Georgian house located in Grade 1-listed Portand Square, a Georgian square, in the centre of Bristol. It's within easy reach of the M32, the city centre offices and shops, Bristol Royal Infirmary, the Bus/Coach Station, and Bristol Temple Meads Railway Station.  Tea, coffee, and biscuits are provided, and, big bonus, there is plenty of free parking right outside the door!

There is a small fee of £3.50 to £5 per person (depending upon ability) which is paid directly to The Pierian Centre to cover the cost of the room and the refreshments.

Adults with or without a diagnosis, as well as spouses, partners, and friends are welcome. For more details you can either email  me at bristoladhdadults@googlemail.com or telephone Susan at 01761 462553.

GADGETS

1.  Our thanks go to a support group member for letting us know about this key finder gadget.

2.  Here is a link to a handy tool for those of us, like me, who are Internet junkies.  It's called LeechBlock (as in time leech), and my thanks go to a group member for telling me about this tool.

3.  During the meeting on 1 December 2008, we learnt from our speaker about software called Inspiration that can help us develop our ideas, organise and prioritise concepts and information, as well as help with drafting essays, reports and presentations.  More information about this useful tool can be found here.  And thanks go to a group member who found a similar tool available for free from here.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

1.  Contact details for the Bristol Adult ADHD Clinic can be found here

2.  If you are having difficulty accessing NHS services and wish to file a complaint, the Independent ComplaintsAdvocacy Service (ICAS) can help.  Section 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 places a duty on the Secretary of State for Health to make arrangements to provide Independent Advocacy Services that will help individuals make complaints against the NHS, and thus ICAS works under contract to the Department of Health, and their excellent services are free for us.  More information and contact details can be found here.

3.  There is an article about adult ADHD in Bristol's Evening Post (published 6 November 2009)

4.  ADHD is now recognised as a Specific Learning Difficulty so university students may be eligible for the Disabled Students' Allowance.  More information can be found here.

5.  A group member came across a description of ADHD called "A Day in My Life"

6.  AADD-UK has published an extensive list of books about ADHD on their website.  For more information click here.

7.  Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP) is currently in the process of becoming an NHS Foundation Trust.  This means that service users and carers can become members of the trust.  For more information about NHS Foundation trusts click here and for more information about becoming a member of AWP click here.

LINKS TO OTHER ADHD SUPPORT GROUPS

1.  Check out the national site for Adult Attention Deficit Disorder UK

2.  If you are in Dorset, check out the Dorset ADHD Support Group

3.  If you are in Hertfordshire have a look at the site of the ADD-vance ADHD & ASC Support Network.

4.  If you are in or near central London, have a look at the site of the London Adult ADHD Support Group

5.  If you are in or near West London, have a look at the site of the West London ADHD Support Group

6.  If you are in Manchester have a look at this site

7.  If you are in Yorkshire have a look at ADDept Yorkshire Learning & Ability Support Group

8.  If you are in Scotland, check out the The Scottish Adult ADHD Support Group

9. The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service, ADDISS.

OTHER RESOURCES

1.  If you suffer from Social Anxiety here is a link to the West of England Social Anxiety Support Group

2.  The National Autistic Society Brunel Resource Centre provides provides a range of activities and life skills training for adults with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome over the age of 18.  More information can be found here.

3.  Bill Goodyear: The Aspergers Coach 

4.  South Gloucestershire Mental Health Group Workshops

5.  South Gloucestershire Mental Health Patient Information

6.  Wiltshire Mental Health Course Information

7.  Digital Switch Over Helping Hand Poster

1.  And here is a link to the website of local Bristol artist Jason Lane.

2.  Here is a link to BCfm Community Radio for Bristol.

3.  Here is a listing of events in Bristol.

4.  Bristol Festival of Ideas.

5.  Public Lectures at the University of Bristol