FOR Alison Thomson, living with a son with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been like living with “Jekyll and Hyde”.

The 16-year-old is one of many who have taken medication like Ritalin to manage the condition, characterised by a short attention span.

Figures obtained by the Oxford Mail show the number of prescriptons for ADHD medication have shot up by 43 per cent in the last seven years.

There were 6,306 prescriptions handed out in 2007/08 compared to 9,042 in 2013/14.

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Health leaders said more diagnoses and GPs prescribing the drugs instead of hospital psychiatrists are among reasons for the rise.

Daniel had “challenging” behaviour from age three and was expelled from primary school for kicking a teacher, his mother said.

The 43-year-old said: “He had massive meltdowns, anything and everything would set him off, it was tantrums beyond anything.

“He is a lovely boy but almost like Jekyll and Hyde. Almost something would switch and he would become this raging lunatic.”

The mum-of-two said: “Within 20 minutes of him taking his first dose you could see him calm down and stop and think.’’ The Faringdon youngster has taken Ritalin and Equasym XL but “has developed strategies to help him concentrate and cope” without medication.

Mrs Thomson, who runs a copy writing business and works as a coach for parents of children with ADHD, said: “It is a genetic thing. People say it is caused by bad parenting and too much TV which is rubbish.”

Daniel, on an IT course at Swindon College, said of the medication change: “After a week or so I felt less zombie-like and more just depressed and energy less, less bothered to mess around.

“I was more focused on work so I could do something which made me more excited.”

Eynsham’s Mary Austin, 66, set up a support group in the village after son James, now 37, was diagnosed aged 24.

She said: “A lot more adults are getting diagnosed and realised they have ADHD. Some are meeting psychiatrists who don’t really understand it.

“A lot of people have depression and anxiety and are having problems with the law and relationships and don’t know they have ADHD.”

Dave, not his real name, said he struggled to get diagnosed until he was referred to a psychiatrist aged 30.

The 36-year-old Oxford resident said: “One of the biggest things people suffer from is a lack of willpower to do something. It is easy to be distracted.”

A spokeswoman for Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which spends most NHS cash in the county, said shorter prescriptions could account for some of the rise.

Dr Wendy Woodhouse, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust clinical director for children and young people, said: “There are a range of interventions available in the community to support that person and their family.

“These include parenting programmes and other forms of support, often available, for instance, at children’s centres in Oxfordshire.”

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