General News
9 April, 2025
ADHD: 'We aren't just being naughty'
Lucas Andrews is a bright and bubbly 12-year-old. And he is also my son.
Caring, kind and always putting others before himself, Lucas is proof that having ADHD isn't as bad as it's sometimes made out to be.
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and if I had a dollar for every time I heard an ill-informed person comment "He's just a kid who's naughty..." I'd be rich.
After having Lucas' condition diagnosed medically – yes, it is actually medically recognised – and treated, often he's almost like any other kid.
And that's because he is.
He's a pretty typical 12-year-old.
He likes basketball, binge-watching Netflix with me, playing outside with his brother Bohdi, riding motorbikes and cooking with his Nan.
My son and all the other people living with ADHD are just like anyone else.
It's just that they have a couple of differences in the activity in their brain and development that impacts attention, the ability to be still, and control and regulation.
March is dedicated to the awareness of neurodivergence, referring to people who process information in a way that's not typical for their age.
It can include diagnosed conditions like ADHD and autism and, in light of the month, I want to share our story.
Lucas was born at 29 weeks back in 2012 at Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital.
He weighed just over a kilogram when he was born and spent nine weeks in hospital in South Australia before being flown back to the hospital in our home town.
There are obviously many problems to conquer and associated risks with being born premature, but it was life or death for both Lucas and me to deliver him at that gestation.
I knew being born early would put Lucas at risk of having problems down the track.
Babies born at a gestation of less than 33 weeks are three times as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.
I stumbled across this fact sitting in hospital, with Lucas' birth imminent.
I'd witnessed the critically ill babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on a tour after arriveing at the hospital at 27 weeks, when the doctors were preparing me for what to expect, and I remember to this day still, thinking that we would manage any challenge thrown our way – as long as he lived.
Lucas made it through the NICU days, although I did nearly lose him once, and he's gone on to thrive accademically and socially.
ADHD is something Lucas, Bohdi and I have learned to live with on a day-to-day basis.
I'm not going to say it's always easy.
There are a few ADHD 'traits' that Lucas carries that are typical: he has problems focusing on a task sometimes, he can be impulsive, he has a low frustration tolerance, he struggles with regulation sometimes and he has an incredible amount of energy, even at midnight sometimes when his brain just can't turn off.
While the 'negative' traits of ADHD are often spoken of, less regularly are the positive ones mentioned.
People with ADHD are often creative and spontaneous, they have great problem-solving skills, they have energy that can literally go for days and they're hyper-focused.
I suspected Lucas had ADHD once he started school.
Although he loved school, the signs of ADHD became more obvious in this environment and he was diagnosed midway through his first year.
After consulting both me and the school, as well as observing Lucas, the diagnosis was made – and it came as a relief.
Not because I could label it or pass his behaviour off, but because I could assist Lucas.
We started medication and Lucas immediately noticed the difference.
He described living with ADHD pre-medication as having lots of stuff going on in his brain, sending him in different directions so he couldn't sit still.
With medication, his brain became much calmer and began making better decisions.
He's now more inclined to finish "boring" tasks and finds it easier to follow instructions.
He's also much less impulsive and more tolerant.
If you saw Lucas in the street, you wouldn't tell him apart from any other kid.
In fact, I've had people stop me in public to comment on how well behaved Lucas is.
And just last week I had his pediatrician tell me Lucas had an awareness of right and wrong that was unique for his age – it's just that sometimes he comes to the realisation a bit after he's acted.
Regardless, I'm a believer that in order to change something, you must first recognise it's wrong.
I've made sure Lucas knows that ADHD doesn't define him – it's just something we live with – but he still feels and hears the not-so-nice comments that are made sometimes.
So, I asked Lucas what he would like readers to take from this story and this is what he said:
"I wish people knew that ADHD isn't a bad thing, and we aren't just being naughty.
"We're trying the best we can to deal with all the funny stuff going on but sometimes it gets a bit much and it shows on the outside."
And to those carers or parents of a child or children with ADHD, I hear you.
Sometimes it can be exhausting and it can be unfair.
But like in Lucas' case, a lot of ADHD children can't express or regulate properly all the time – and that's okay.
You just need to continue to be their safe space and guide them through the journey.