Charity set up to support people in Southampton with ADHD

Tim Kiver, a 53-year-old software engineer from Hedge End first started to notice he was finding it difficult to focus about three years ago.

He said: “My wife was saying ‘you never listen to me, you either don’t do what I’m telling you, you do it wrong, or you only half do it.’

Tim’s professional life was also affected.

“After 35 years in work as an engineer I found myself in a disciplinary for the first time in my life for poor performance - due to my ‘attentional difficulties’ - and after a nasty battle my employer forced me to leave the job,” he said.

In 2017 Tim went to his GP, who referred him to a specialist.

Following what Tim referred to as “18 months of poking, prodding and testing” they concluded he had ‘attentional difficulties’ and he was discharged.

After “wasting away” on an NHS waiting list for an AHDH assessment, Tim set up a GoFundMe page which raised enough money for a private assessment.

This assessment led to a diagnosis of ADHD in July of this year, which he described as “a huge relief.”

Tim said at this point he “[couldn’t] bear to think of other people having to go through life as [he had to] so in July he launched a charity named the Tim Kiver Foundation to support people in Southampton and Portsmouth with ADHD symptoms.

The foundation is currently providing information, advice, signposting and support through their Facebook page and it is hoped that it will one day have the funding to speed up assessments for people with ADHD symptoms.

Tim is currently looking for support to help the foundation grow.

He said: “We need trustees and volunteers to donate their time to the foundation.

"We would love to form partnerships with local companies in Southampton and Portsmouth to accelerate our ability to grow and do more for those that need us.”

The Tim Kiver Foundation will hold an information stand in Fareham town centre this Saturday (10 Oct) to raise awareness about ADHD.