Parenting roles for young people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder transitioning to adult services.
Astrid Janssens, Sharon Blake, Helen Eke and 2 others
PMID 35723621WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of young people with ADHD describe three roles: 'manager' handling appointments and meds, 'roadie' stepping back as the child matures, and 'superfan' offering unconditional support.
Services often fail to recognize this ongoing parental burden during transition.
Key findings
01Parents adopt a 'manager' role because they believe their children cannot access or navigate health services without them, often due to fragmented care and long waiting lists.
02As children mature, parents shift to a 'roadie' role, providing logistical support like transport but encouraging independent decision-making, though they fear clinicians do not recognize their child's emotional readiness.
03The 'superfan' role involves unconditional love and advocacy to protect the child's self-image and future potential, which can make it difficult for parents to step back or identify problematic behaviors.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The typology is based on parents already engaged with health services, so it may not apply to those who disengage or have different family dynamics. Participants were recruited from specific NHS trusts in the UK, which may limit generalizability to other healthcare systems. The study relies on self-reported experiences and does not measure clinical outcomes or service efficiency.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the 'manager' role as a deficit in parenting or patient autonomy. The study suggests it is often a necessary adaptation to poorly resourced services, and simply restricting parental involvement without improving service accessibility is likely to harm transition outcomes.