AS a first-time mother, Joanne McPeake did not think there was anything unusual at first about her son's behaviour.
"Michael was my first child and he has always been quite hyperactive, but I just thought all children were like that - especially boys" she said. "He doesn't sit still for any length of time, he's constantly on the move, but before he went to school it wasn't that much of an issue because there was no real need for him to sit still."
Mrs McPeake, who lives in East Kilbride with her husband Andy, Michael, now 10, and six-year-old daughter Molly, said teachers believed Michael was just "energetic and impulsive".
READ MORE: Children with ADHD being excluded up to six times on average amid learning support cuts
She said: "In the beginning when they were struggling to keep Michael on tasks, they thought it was because he was bored or not challenged."
However, in P3 the problems escalated.
Mrs McPeake, 40, said: "Michael was excluded a number of times in P3. The school had their own discipline policy where the kids would start out each day on 'gold' and if they choose not to follow the instructions they go down to silver and then bronze, or if their behaviour is completely unacceptable they go straight to bronze. Michael was on bronze constantly."
Worried about his behaviour, Mrs McPeake approached the family GP who referred Michael to CAMHS. Eventually their case was taken on a by a counsellor, Leanne, who observed Michael in class.
"Leanne said he really wasn't managing to stay seated at any point, he was constantly moving around in the classroom and constantly shouting out and talking over people. We had no idea it was that bad.
"She started working with him on his aggression - sort of anger management techniques for children - but she couldn't get him to sit still for long enough to do any of the work."
After 10 months, Michael was seen for the first time by a psychiatrist.
READ MORE: Children with ADHD being excluded up to six times on average amid learning support cuts
Mrs McPeake, a marketing manager, said: "She was in this brand new office and there was a cupboard in the room, Michael was just jumping in and out of her cupboard over and over again.
"Then at one point he was doing cartwheels and handstands on the floor, and I just thought 'there's no way this is standard behaviour'."
Michael was diagnosed with ADHD in 2015, shortly before his eighth birthday, and has been on medication ever since. He has caught up with his classmates and now excels in maths.
Mrs McPeake said they noticed a difference immediately.
She said: "One of the first days after we gave him his tablet we went out in the car. Normally he would have been constantly shouting and talking and trying to move about in the back of the car, but he sat with a comic and did the colouring in. I thought 'I've never seen him doing that in his whole life'. The difference was really marked for us."
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