Keynote speakers

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Speakers

Andrea Bilbow

President of ADHD Europe

"Experiences of voluntary psychoeducation groups"

Psychoeducation and parenting programmes can be provided by non-clinical services including patient advocacy organizations and in coordination with clinical services. The presentation will focus on the experiences of The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service (ADDISS) in coordinating those services.MethodsParents and families as well as children's experiences receiving psychoeducation via ADDISS will be presented.ResultsPsychoeducation is a necessary component of management of ADHD and its beneficial effects are noted by both families and patients.ConclusionsPatient advocacy organizations and other non-governmental organizations may help families of youth with ADHD in accessing psychoeducation and coordinate their activities with clinical services.

"10 Steps to Success"

Getting a diagnosis for your child can be a shock or a relief. Either way it can be a daunting experience knowing that you will probably have to fight every inch of the way to ensure your child gets the best access to an education and appropriate healthcare. Many parent feel very isolated and unsupportedAndrea Bilbow OBE, founder and CEO of ADDISS and parent of two boys with ADHD who were diagnosed over 20 years ago willl share her journey raising her boys and through that experience will share what she believes is a formula for successfully raising our child with ADHDIn this workshop you will learn that children with ADHD can succeed. Through personal experiences and stories you will learn the 10 steps to helping your child with ADHD to become the person he/she is meant to be. How to harness their passions and interests on their journey into adulthood and to give them the best chances possible

Marko Ferek

Vice President of ADHD Europe

"Hyperactive dreamers in school"

“Hyperactive dreamers in school” explains creative and at the same time inattentive and hyperactive child. It give teachers an insight on how hyperactive dreamers think, what are their basic traits and most importantly – what to do next! Through his own personal story Marko Ferek shows best practices on how to nurture creativity in children within school system. And yes, techniques and methods teachers get are better for every child they encounter, not only for hyperactive dreamers. This results in motivated teachers, motivated and engaged students and overall better class dynamic.

"Education that fits all".

Here I talk about some of our actions we did in Croatia that influenced education system (less homework for students that later showed interesting results), meditation in classroom, connecting teachers through social media to share ideas, implementing biofeedback technologies into the school settings. The question that usually arises is how much children with ADHD have influenced some of the changes in to school system? Also, single most important question is - should we change children to fit the system or change the school system to adjust to the needs of the children?

Kevin Roberts

ADHD coach and author

"Success at school with ADHD"

details to follow

"Technology in the modern age: the power and the peril"

details to follow

Local Speakers:

Nigel Humphrey, Clinical Psychologist:

Nigel qualified and started practising as a Clinical Psychologist over 25 years ago in Zimbabwe, operating a fledgling ADHD clinic in conjunction with a paediatric colleague. He has worked in the UK in a private ADHD and neurodevelopmental clinic, establishing the first private ADHD clinic for adults as well as assessing and managing young people with ADHD. Nigel has presented at the national ADDISS conferences and am currently on the board of editors for the journal ADHD in Practice. Nigel currently leads the CAMHS Intensive Outreach Team. He is a Trauma therapist trained in standard Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Attachment-focused EMDR.

"ADHD & Trauma – Teasing out the differences"

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study (1998) spawned a wealth of research into the effects of childhood trauma and its impact on the developing brain. ACEs are relatively common and can affect young people (and adults) in markedly similar ways to ADHD, with high levels of inattention, impulsivity and mood dysregulation. Additionally, young people with ADHD can also experience ACEs. This presentation with explore the neurobiology of toxic stress compared to ADHD, and highlight the need for a trauma-informed approach to improve assessment and treatment pathways.

"Becoming adults"

We know that approximately 60% of young people go on to have difficulty with ADHD in adulthood. What happens to the 40% who successfully manage this transition? How do the pressures of adulthood impact on the same neurodevelopmental underpinnings as childhood ADHD? In this presentation we explore the common areas of difficulty in this transitional area, including driving, career planning, financial responsibility, forensic issues, relationships and mental health.

Dr Rachael Major, Senior Lecturer

Rachael is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Health and Social Care Studies where she is the Programme Lead for the pre-registration nursing degree. She also developed a Post-graduate Certification in professional education and she teaches on a broad range of health and education topics . Her doctoral research investigated the lifelong learning experiences of registered nurses with dyslexia. Rachael is a mother to two children with ADHD and co-occurring difficulties.

"It’s not just ADHD; ADHD and Co-Occurrences"

ADHD is a distinct diagnosis in its own right but research has shown that it co-occurs with a number of specific learning differences, developmental disorders as well as mental health conditions. The presentation will discuss how common these comorbidities are and how they can impact on the lives and learning of children and adults. The presentation will draw on research and personal experience of parenting children with co-occurring difficulties.

"Parenting neurodivergent children"

This presentation will draw on personal experience and those of other parents with children with ADHD and co-occurring differences such as autism, dyslexia and sensory processing difficulties. The challenges that parents and children experience both at home and in school will be explored and strategies used to overcome these will be discussed.