Why do we need AD/HD Belgium?Letter Inviting the Ambassador

Our partners in AD/HD Belgium have invited politicians and experts to the launch of AD/HD Belgium- Here is the adult group's letter to the British Ambassador-

Ambassador Kinchen

13th May 2007

Dear Ambassador,

I’m writing as a member of the Adult ADHD Support group, who together with the AD/HD Family Support Group work within the English speaking international population of Belgium. We have members from almost 20 countries, including many British people. This international population is often isolated from health services by language and unfamilarity with local information networks, so we are pleased to be working together across cultures to build AD/HD Belgium, together with Centrum ZitStil (Flemish support group), TDA/H Belgique (French support group) and Patienten Rat & Treff (German-speaking group).

We hope each of us will benefit from this exchange and through this synergy will become stronger. We hope to continue to working together to better the lives and of people with AD/HD, and to raise awareness across Belgium

Despite being the most common mental health condition AD/HD continues to be misunderstood. AD/HD is known to affect 3-5% of school-aged children , in the majority of cases persisting into adulthood , research shows wide disparities both across Europe, and within Belgium in regard to assessment, referral rates, diagnosis, treatment and management for AD/HD. These differences are reflected by lack of knowledge among the professional community, limited access to medication, few resources and insufficient support for children and adults in both school and the workplace

The launch of AD/HD Belgium will be marked by an AD/HD family education day on June 2nd, 2007 at ULB, Salle Dupréel, Campus Solbosch, Institut de sociologie, Avenue Jeanne 44, 1050 Brussels. There will be information and presentations in Flemish, French, English and German:

• Symptoms / Diagnosis / Treatment of ADHD

• Behavioural therapy insights for managing ADHD at home

• Managing behavioural problems using limits and rewards

• Providing balance and a positive environment

We unite in inviting you to our event .We welcome your presence, and the boost that would give to our work within the expatriate community and across Belgium.

Yours sincerely,

Coordinator

Anglophone Adult AD/HD Support

link to full programme for the family infomation day