A Richmond ADHD charity is promoting cake sales in schools this October to raise money for parents, teachers, and carers of children with ADHD.
To commemorate October as ADHD awareness month, these cake sales are set to help raise funds to further the provision of life changing and free services.
Chair and founder Anette Wilson said: “We believe that early intervention and the correct support can change the direction of children’s lives for the better – preventing a slide towards not thriving in life or not reaching their potential.”
After receiving a diagnosis of ADHD for her own child in 2002, Ms Wilson founded a voluntary support group for parents and carers of children with ADHD in the Richmond Borough known as ADHD Richmond.
The aim was to create a space for families in a similar position who are struggling to find support and information on how to best empower their children through the condition.
By 2022 the group had renamed itself ADHD Embrace and expanded to become a registered charity.
This growing success has evolved into supporting families from as far as India. Reaching its members through seminars and webinars, a school’s outreach programme, one to one counselling, teacher talks and post-diagnosis workshops – all free to access.
Some examples of topics covered by the charity in their seminars include sleep, diet, exercise, medication, anxiety, legal rights, and non-violent restraint techniques.
These seminars are run by a range of outside professional speakers including psychiatrists, solicitors, trained counsellors and many more.
Members of the charity who wish to remain anonymous praised the charity and the impact it’s had on their lives.
“ADHD Embrace has been the most invaluable help, it put us in touch with other parents with similar struggles,” one said. “It has been life changing for us in terms of support and knowledge.”
Through their work as a charity, the support providers at ADHD Embrace found that teachers and professionals were also needing support on the neurodiversity of the children they were educating.
This need has surged massively and now coffee mornings and teacher conferences held by the charity are high in demand in the local area.
A spokesperson for St Stephen’s C of E primary school who used ADHD services said: “We were very lucky as a school community to work closely with ADHD Embrace.
“Both staff and parents found their training and advice supportive and very helpful. The ideas they shared were practical and relevant for children of all ages. I would strongly recommend their services.”
Executive director of the charity Jenny Cooper said: “We give parents and carers the knowledge to empower them.
“Having more knowledge and understanding of the condition, they can advocate better for their children.”
To donate to ADHD Embrace and support them on their mission to change lives for the better, you can visit their website here and click donate.
Featured image credit: PXHERE
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Super article it is good to know such proactive work is going on.