First gaming addict diagnosis..boy of 15 MUM’S AGONY

Son had hospital stay & missed a year of school

A BOY of 15 is set to be diagnosed as the first Nhs-recognised internet gaming addict.

Kendal Parmar’s son was kept in hospital for eight weeks and has missed a year of school because of his “all-consuming” addiction.

Mum-of-five Kendal, who has battled for three years for help, said: “No one has taken it seriously. There isn’t any treatment as it’s so new.

“Every moment he’s awake, he wants to be on a game. There’s no outside world.”

She has told how he went from a talented pupil and rugby player to a recluse after he began gaming aged 12. He lives on video platform Twitch and plays hit games such as Fortnite.

Kendal, of North London, who runs employee support firm 110% Limited, said: “We’ve lost all of him.” When her son’s addiction reached a level where he stopped eating and washing, he needed psychiatric help.

She added: “When he came out of hospital, they had medication for him. But it was just vitamin D, because he doesn’t go outside.”

Her sister Belinda Parmar, 44, who runs the campaign #Thetruthabouttech, urged the Government to set recommended daily technology time. She said: “We hope the diagnosis means we start to take this problem seriously.”

The World Health Organisation classified gaming addiction as a mental health disorder in January.

A girl of nine is in rehab after becoming so hooked on gaming she would wet herself rather than stop.

An ambassador for online safety organisation Internet Matters, Dr Linda Papadopoulos, said: “A child may turn to video games as a way of coping with difficult life issues.”

An NHS pilot study that treated internet addicts ended in 2015.