'People said I was lazy and useless for years - then I got my diagnosis'

'People said I was lazy and useless for years - then I got my diagnosis' Ryan said his whole life made so much more sense when he was finally diagnosed Ryan Swain spent years being called lazy. As a child, people said he was useless - and a distraction to others. Then one day he got the diagnosis that made his whole life make sense. Ryan, 36, from Malton, in Yorkshire, was removed from mainstream education at the age of 14 after his disruptive and impulsive behaviour was deemed 'difficult' by those around him. Throughout his childhood, Ryan was described as "useless, stupid, and irritating" by the adults in his life, as well as some of his peers. Ryan went on to spend time within alternative education systems. Then, at the age of 21, he received an ADHD diagnosis. He said: "It all made sense, then. I had to grieve my childhood. I understood why the things that happened did, and I wish I had done it all different." Ryan reveals he was born with undiagnosed ADHD and a defect that left him with a hole in his heart. He claims doctors failed to detect his heart condition until he was four years old and collapsed - despite such conditions typically being identified far earlier. He said: "Normally, a child will be lethargic, they won't eat, they won't drink. But for me, I was the complete opposite. I was always on the go, I had no sense of danger, I acted upon impulse, I talked excessively. It was because of my undiagnosed ADHD that they didn't spot the defect. "Doctors were confused it hadn't been picked up until the age of four, but my brain was doing something different to what my body was. And that's what ADHD is. It's a constant war between the brain and the body." Following an operation, Ryan says his ADHD symptoms took a turn for the worse. He said: "As I got older, the development side of things were more noticeable. I was so far behind, because I just couldn't concentrate or listen. "I wasn't growing and developing like the other children around me. I was just called lazy, naughty, bad, useless. I was told I distracted everyone. I was constantly reminded of the things I couldn't do, not what I could do. "And the more you tell a child you're not good enough, or they're trouble, the more they believe it. Anytime I hear the Coldplay song Trouble now, I still weep. I've been made to feel like trouble my whole life." And matters only deteriorated for Ryan once he started secondary school. "Puberty exacerbated my symptoms. I was much harder to cope with, much harder to be around," he said. Then one afternoon, out in the playground, Ryan says he witnessed another pupil being bullied. It triggered him, and he says he found himself caught up in a fight. The school took the decision to permanently exclude Ryan. He said: "I never use ADHD as an excuse. I still recognise the consequences of my actions, but I still see it as an explanation as to why certain things can happen. Even though my reports all said 'we suspect he has a condition called ADD/ADHD,' nothing was ever done about it. There were no resources in the 90s. "The teaching staff didn't know anything about it, so I basically spent most of my education being misunderstood, told off, put in detention, and being punished for who I was." Ryan subsequently attended an alternative educational facility, known as a pupil referral unit, in Scarborough. "The PRU saved my life. There was flexible learning and movement breaks. We learnt about each others conditions and the consequences of our actions. "We learnt about key life skills. It was a different kind of education," Ryan said. Ryan's ADHD diagnosis Ryan, who is now an artist and musician, was officially diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 21, in 2011. He said: "I had a thorough diagnostic process. The whole process took 18 months and it started with my GP who referred me to psychotherapist and neurologist through the NHS. "They checked everything. My peripheral vision, my brain activity, school reports, history of my childhood. I sat through six sessions, and then I got my diagnosis. It all made sense. "My dad came with me to every appointment and he got diagnosed with ADHD as exactly the same time. That's when he realised he wanted to make a difference. "I just wished there was someone like me who could have come into my school and talked about their lived experience, and their understanding of the condition. Not because it would cure me or stop the things happening, but because it would mentally prepare me for what was to come," he said. Ryan Swain wants neurodiversity education lessons at school From that point onwards, Ryan turned himself into a champion for neurodivergent education in schools. These days, he dedicates his time to visiting schools, educational establishments and parliament, sharing his experiences and what policy makers, teachers and pupils can learn from them. Now Ryan's mission is to champion the cause of neurodivergent children and, as part of ADHD Awareness Month, has launched a petition pushing for greater education around these conditions. He is calling for education about the subject to become mandatory that all schools incorporate ADHD and neurodiversity education into their curriculum. He said: "I spend my time visiting schools, educating children and staff, and just trying to make that change happen." He added: "I'm trying to bring ADHD and neurodiversity lessons into the curriculum, so all young people get an opportunity to learn about them in term times consistently. At the moment, it's a bit of a postcode lottery. "It's been ADHD Awareness Month, and just in the past month I've visited 27 schools. I do it all voluntarily, I don't make a profit. "It's turned into a full on national campaign – I get around 200 messages a week from people I've never met, schools I've never heard off asking me to visit and speak about my lived experience with ADHD." Last week, Ryan launched a petition calling for all schools to be required to incorporate ADHD and neurodiversity education into their teaching. "I set up the petition last week and it's already got over 6,000 signatures. It only needs 10,000 for it to be discussed in Government," Ryan said. Ryan is keen to press ahead with his advocacy work and intends to do so through the launch of his new virtual lesson: You, Me and ADHD. He said: "There's only one of me. So I'm launching You, Me and ADHD. It's a virtual, interactive and immersive course that I'm going to give the Department of Education for free. It's almost like a public safety video, a virtual lesson. "In the curriculum, we teach young minds about drugs and alcohol addiction, we have sex education, so why are we not teaching young people about mental health conditions and neurodivergence?" To sign Ryan's petition, go here.