Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, marked ADHD Awareness Week by holding the “ADHD in Children and Adolescents: Addressing barriers to integration and socialisation in school” event in Brussels. At the meeting - which was organised and funded by Shire, and involved leading figures from the fields of policy, education and ADHD advocacy from across Europe - delegates reviewed the recent research findings exploring the impact of ADHD on school-age children, and agreed that steps need to be taken to improve understanding and acceptance of ADHD in schools. Delegates concur that the parent-teacher partnership is pivotal in reaching new levels of awareness and understanding of ADHD and supported the ADHD Partnership Support Pack for use by teaching/educational networks, family organisations and ADHD advocacy groups.

Delegates agreed to a four point consensus that to achieve greater understanding and awareness of ADHD: More services and tools, such as the ADHD Partnership Support Pack, are needed to help parents and teachers work together to effectively manage the needs of a child with ADHD in the school setting; Providing teachers with better education on ADHD, to help them identify and manage the condition, is required; More support networks are needed to help parents and patients with ADHD; In order to support parents and teachers, there also needs to be greater recognition and prioritisation of ADHD in health services to improve diagnosis and management of the condition.

The ADHD Partnership Support Pack is funded and developed by Shire in collaboration with ADHD Europe, a European non-profit umbrella organisation representing 28 national and regional organisations from 21 countries in advancing the cause of ADHD, and an expert European ADHD Awareness Taskforce.

ADHD is a psychiatric behavioural disorder which occurs in children and adults and is thought to affect 5.3% of the population globally, 2-3% of pre-school children and 6-13% of adolescents. “ADHD Awareness Week is an important initiative as it raises awareness and promotes greater understanding of the condition, which can result in a significant burden to families, wider society, and the public services system if undetected,” said Dr Myriam Menter, president of ADHD Europe, who spoke at the event. “It is important for teachers and families to be equipped with as much information as possible so that children and adolescents with ADHD receive the help and support that they need.”

Delegates at the event were also presented the findings from Lifetime Impairment Survey, which was funded by Shire and is the first pan-European research exploring the impact of ADHD on children and adults. The Lifetime Impairment Survey was carried out across six European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and UK) and completed by over 2,500 respondents online. The data compares the experience of ADHD patients with their peers to assess the perceived lifetime impact of ADHD including, impairments at home, at school and work, and in relationships. The results showed that on average it took 2 years for the children of respondents to be diagnosed with ADHD. Over one third (38%) reported that they saw three or more doctors before receiving a diagnosis of ADHD. Dr. Hervé Caci, Chair of the Survey Steering Committee says, “When seen together, findings such as these demonstrate how critical it is to identify ADHD as the condition often has long-term implications, and to understand that timely, proactive support for children and young people with ADHD can make a real difference.”

Speakers at the event called on European governments to help raise awareness and understanding of ADHD and to place the condition as a higher priority on their policy agendas. Studies have shown ADHD and late diagnosis can severely impact children and adults and their participation in education, employment and society and ADHD represents a costly public health problem with an estimated global cost of $31.5 billion.