The doctor or psychologist has just informed you that your child or adolescent has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. You may be shocked, or maybe you have suspected it for some time. Either way, unless you have been down this path before, you have a long list of questions and concerns. Your medical professional gave you a quick overview of ADHD, but you are now looking to the Internet for more information and others are giving you a great deal of unsolicited advice. How do you know what’s sound advise and what’s not? What do you tell the school? Should you even tell the school and how do you get your child the help they need? What about getting a psychoeducational assessment? What about treatment? Do all children with ADHD require medication and what about all those natural treatments? This presentation will answer these questions and more, guide you to your next steps and teach you how to become an informed consumer and advocate for your child.
Presenter – Heidi Bernhardt, RN
Heidi Bernhardt, RN, is a psychiatric nurse by training, mother of three young men with ADHD, and the founder, President and Executive Director of the Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada (CADDAC), a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to awareness, education, and advocacy for ADHD. Heidi also served as the Executive Director of the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance (CADDRA), a national not-for-profit organization of the leading clinicians and researchers in ADHD in Canada for 6 years. Over the past 25 years, Heidi Bernhardt has helped raise awareness and understanding of ADHD among parents, educators, health care professionals, industry leaders, and government officials through presentations, conferences, media interviews, and advocacy work.