'I knew my son had ADHD'

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Katie McCartney, 37, a mother of five from Barnet, knew that her son Liam had behavioral problems but it took doctors 5 years to diagnose him. Here's their story.

Liam was a laid back baby, his motor skills were good, he was a good talker but at about the age of 3 he went completely off the rails. He stopped speaking properly, created a fantasy world that he really believed in and thought he was invincible.

He took a lot of risks when playing and seemed to have absolutely no idea of danger, no matter how many times I told him to avoid the road or the fire.

Liam became obsessed with things - more so than other kids of his age. He had no concept of right or wrong either, even though I have very strong moral values and have taught all my kids right from wrong. I know lots of mums say this but I just knew Liam was different. I've got 5 kids and I've brought them all up the same way.

People would tell me that I needed to discipline him more and that Liam was just naughty, but I knew that wasn't the case. His behaviour was so difficult that I couldn't take him to toddler group or the shops in case he went hyper.

I felt desperate and guilty because I was always telling him off and I knew that he got frustrated with life . When he wasn't being hyper he was such a lovely, funny, loving child.

As he got older I used to dread the phone ringing because it was usually his school telling me he's been naughty. I would go to bed at night and cry. Eventually, I approached his school and asked them for help or at least to refer me to a specialist.

One day, after a really bad day at school Liam said that he wanted to jump out of the window and kill himself because he was so frustrated. It was heartbreaking.

After 2 years, at the end of my tether I went to the child psychologist's office and demanded to see her. She let me in and I just broke down and cried and cried. The child psychologist spent just half an hour with Liam and said he had all the classic symptoms of ADHD. He was prescribed Ritalin, but it didn't agree with him and it took away all of his personality, not just the difficult bit.

Once he was given an official diagnosis I then had to wait to get him statemented. This is when everyone who helps with Liam - the school teachers, psychiatrists, doctors, etc - come together to discuss what educational help he needs. Liam got a statement, which meant he got the right help at school and extra educational equipment to help him learn.

Now he's 15 and goes to school one day a week - the rest of the time he goes to a special educational centre where he learns about landscape gardening - he's even talking about getting a job!

I am so proud of him now because his behaviour is much better and he's able to travel on his own and be a bit more independent now.

The advice I would give to other mums is to be persistent - if you know your child and you've got other kids, you know that there is something wrong, trust your gut instinct. You have to be patient too, but getting support from other mums is really important. I found www.addiss.co.uk really helpful, they were great.