SITTING still for hours of presentations could be challenging for someone with ADHD, but a recent conference looking into the condition at St Brelade’s Bay Hotel was anything but dull.
A line-up of engaging, inspiring and often hilarious speakers – one of whom even broke into a song about ADHD medication to the tune of Mary Poppins’ A Spoonful of Sugar – kept everyone engaged.
The Rosière Suite was full of energy for World Mental Health Day last week, as attendees settled in for a day of learning and discussion at the first ADHD in the Channel Islands conference.
Around a quarter of the audience identified as having ADHD themselves, while another quarter were parents of neurodiverse children. The remainder consisted of educators, medical professionals, those one speaker jokingly referred to as being “in the closet” about their ADHD status and one JEP journalist.
Organised by government health educators Hazel McWhinnie and Jane Sedgwick-Müller, the conference was a space for exchanging ideas, sharing lived experiences and highlighting the latest research.
Mrs Sedgwick-Müller said the event’s focus was on “open and honest conversations”, where everyone – from speakers to delegates – had the opportunity to learn from each other.
Her key takeaway was witnessing “how eager professionals from various fields are to adopt best practices for supporting Islanders living with ADHD”.
She also emphasised the importance of building partnerships with organisations such as ADHD Jersey and collaborating with professional groups to address gaps in care, particularly for underserved communities.
She said: “We are acutely aware of the lengthy wait times to access specialist clinics for ADHD, the global shortages of medications, lack of non-pharmacological interventions, stigma, misperceptions about ADHD being over-diagnosed or being a fad.”
The speakers, who came from a variety of backgrounds, spoke about lived experiences of ADHD, assessment standards, treatment options, the role of ADHD in primary care and education, and the positive aspects of the condition.
Ulrich Sedgwick-Müller, who is Jersey’s consultant ADHD psychiatrist and husband to event organiser Jane Sedgwick-Müller, provided an update on the availability of ADHD medication, saying that improvements had been seen since shortages began last September.
Meanwhile, Welsh GP Dr Heidi Philips advocated a “holistic approach” to ADHD management in primary care.
She proposed a GP-centred hub to bring together various specialists to provide comprehensive and multi-disciplinary care.
Dr Philips said this would help doctors to pick up comorbidities (medical conditions in addition to a primary diagnosis) due to the frequent co-occurrence of ADHD with other conditions, such as autism, tic disorder, hypermobility, Ehlers–Danlos syndromes, gut issues, IBS, eating disorders, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
She said: “If we start seeing our patients through the lens of neurodiversity, we will start picking up other things.”
She added: “When I see a patient with dyslexia or when I see a patient with tics, I think, ‘oh, yeah, what else have you got’? It’s something that we need to be aware of. There is overlap, and the overlap is real.”
Another group of speakers also discussed the role of ADHD in education and the impact of the condition on university students. They highlighted the importance of early intervention, personalised support and community building for these students.
Here, Mrs Sedgwick-Müller aimed to debunk the “common misconception” that university students fake ADHD diagnoses to obtain and sell stimulant medications.
“There’s a whole body of research around medical use in this population and the evidence is completely against that. That doesn’t happen.
“And in fact, university students don’t only want ADHD stimulants. They want all drugs,” she joked.
Perhaps the day’s most entertaining speaker was American author and ADHD coach Kevin Roberts, who, despite being unable to attend in person, stole the show with his virtual performance and rendition of “a spoonful of Ritalin” makes “all the work be done”.
The next verse continued: “ADHD can be fun unless there’s work that must be done… Modern medication. Snap! Concentration, and every task you undertake, becomes a piece of cake.’”
But Mr Roberts didn’t shy away from more serious topics, reminding the audience that the biggest side effect of an ADHD diagnosis is often damage to self-esteem.
He said: “If we look at a trajectory, ADHD people always have developmental delays. We know this. Maybe a 16-year-old has the social skills of a 13-year-old, for example.
“But eventually, by age 25, those developmental delays significantly improve, but the damage to self-esteem does not readily improve.
“We have to create real, concrete opportunities for people with ADHD to succeed because the success will help fuel them.
“And I’ve got to tell you, most ADHD people I run into are helpers. They want to help other people. They actually want to make a difference.
“And the greatest driver that I have ever seen in self-esteem, for ADHD people, is when we help them help others. That’s the greatest thing you can do.”
As attendees filed out of the conference room into the sunny afternoon, there was a sense of progress and community.
Rachel Tippet, founder of ADHD Jersey, captured the spirit of the day: “It’s so positive to see so many professionals engaging in the conversation and working to reduce the stigma around ADHD.
“We need to catch undiagnosed children early to prevent a generation of traumatised young people and adults.”
