There have been moments when Kirsten McCall has just sat down and cried.

Looking back, she can see that her son Blair was showing signs of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) while still at nursery school, but it took years to get it diagnosed. The worry, confusion, stress and sheer lack of support have ground her down.

Blair would do risky things without thinking. Kirsten, from East Lothian, says she gets traumatised just thinking about lockdown during Blair’s P1 year.

“He really didn’t do well at home,” she says. “For us as a family it was tough. Now, looking back, his brain was going at 100mph and we didn’t realise.

Things came to a head when Blair was in P2. “He was doing stuff that was so impulsive I thought he was going to harm himself.”

She describes “umpteen disagreements, tension, stress and frustration” as she struggled to manage Blair’s behaviour without understanding what was causing it. “People do not understand how hard it is as a family unit,” she says.

Kirsten took Blair to the GP who quickly agreed that he needed further investigation, suspecting ADHD. She gave Kirsten and her family a huge questionnaire to fill in about Blair’s symptoms.

After eight months, Kirsten heard that a panel had reviewed the questionnaire and decided Blair warranted further investigation. Then everything went quiet again.

Kirsten says: “I emailed them, I asked if he was anywhere near the top of the list, because I was really struggling.

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