Welcome to the Chelmsford ADHD/AS Support
group. This support group is volunteer run group
for individuals with ADHD/AS and their parents/guardians who want to have the opportunity to help each other and
share information with professionals to help
learn more about the condition and cope with the day to day struggles.
Facebook
Please come and visit our
FaceBook Page.
Don't forget to click on "Like" at the top of the page to keep up
to date via Facebook.
NEWS UPDATE - Facebook
We have setup a Facebook page which we hope you will join. We aim to release news updates, current ADHD/AS news items and provide peer-to-peer support through it. Currently it has an awful
URL allocated to it as Facebook does; however as soon as we hit 25 'Likes' we can change it to something a bit kinder (e.g. we hope something like www.facebook.com/adhdsupportuk).
Stephen also hopes to soon redesign this website to bring it up
to date and hopefully increase the storage of useful
information.
NEWS UPDATE - Apology for Recent Past
"I would like to apologise for lack of correspondence over the past couple of years. The support group went under a great deal of issues which made life very difficult for all involved.
I was personally left to run the group on my own which I had
made clear was not something I could do due to personal
constraints; however I attempted to struggle on. As an
explanation I would just like to share with you that the
problems faced included a sudden allocation of charges from the
school we used at the time (who back dated charges without
notice) and I was personally left with the charges.
Additionally I had to increase my working hours in my employment
to 16+ hours per day, and was left unpaid by a significant
amount by clients faltering under the economic weight. My
wife was diagnosed with Arnold Chiari Malformation Type I and I
struggled to help bring up our four children who also have
ADHD/AS. During this time we have also wrestled with the
NHS in getting diagnosis and help for our children. That
support has not been forth coming as they view us as able to
cope without the said support. I found myself without
support and expected to provide support to others. I
became overwhelmed and depressed, and got close to ending all
aspects of the support group. I hope however to have
turned to a new chapter. I hope you will join me and help
re-establish this group; which I personally had previously
created a fantastic reputation for."
Stephen Challen
Our Successes
In addition to support group meetings we also provide parents
with help via telephone, email and in person. Our aim is to
improve the lives of parents and those with
ADHD,
and our advice is of a practical nature based on personal experience.
As such we cannot guarantee that all the advice can help everyone
however we believe that our success shows that the advice is effective.
A week after a two hours introduction course, a mum, who has
a 7 year old daughter with
ADHD,
informed us:
Thank you for meeting with me, so far it has been very helpful
... Good news though although not actually going to sleep until
9pm she has been staying in her room and when told 'no this
is it' has finally gone to sleep and I have had to wake her
for school in the morning - very unheard of!!
After a number of sessions a mum, who has a 14 year old son with
ADHD,
informed us:
Your information has been very helpful. You have made me rethink
my approach to my son's behaviour and made me feel more positive
about his future. He was and is still a little negative
about having
ADHD,
but was impressed with the amount of famous people who have
or have had it. The most invaluable help is knowing you are
at the end of a computer if I need any support, and that there
can be a positive outcome with
ADHD.
Let us know if you've been helped by our advice, by sending an
email to steve@adhdsupport.org.uk.
Who we are
Our key worker, who is an unpaid volunteer, is Stephen Challen; however we also have help from parents with varying
ages of children and/or teenagers who have
ADHD/AS.
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Stephen himself was diagnosed by Great Ormond Street
Hospital for Children as having
ADD & Hyperactivity
caused by Food-Related Hypersensitivity approx 21 years
ago. The condition is now widely known as
ADHD
following the adoption of the phrase by the NHS is 2000. He also has three beautiful daughters
and a son
who also have the same condition. Stephen is available
during our forums to obtain advice and help from both a
parent's point of view as well as being someone who has
grown up with the condition himself. He currently
works in the ICT industry working with high level server
systems, data recovery and website design. His father
was a haematologist and immunologist, his uncle was a leading
Bio-Chemist and many members of his family are involved
is some form of science. This upbringing allows Stephen
to understand a wide range of medical and scientific issues
which to others sound like a foreign language. Needless
to say his daughters also love science. "It's a family
thing!"
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All are welcome
We welcome everyone whether you have
ADHD,
ADD, Hyperactivity,
Hypersensitivity, AS or other related condition, you are a parent of
a child or teenager who has it or are a professional or teacher
looking to know more about the condition. We also welcome
anyone who lives or works in the Chelmsford area, and even welcome
others from around Essex looking for a support group that will meet
their needs.