Are ADHD waiting lists ever going to improve?

I've got almost a quarter of each ks3 class on the list. It's bonkers. Teachers literally do assessment forms daily. And even then, let's say they all get a diagnosis, how can I possibly manage a supposedly mainstream class with so many needs?

I'm at my wits end with the amount of need i'm meant to manage in every class with no TA or help, in classes of up to 35 kids.

We need a mid tier of school for these children that meets their need, because it's impossible in most classes where i'm dealing with, for example, mutism, adhd, autism, odd and phobia as well as trying to teach. I am failing all children -when i'm following regulation policies for SEND, there are children waiting to resume teaching after we've had to evacuate the classroom. While i'm having 2 minute restoration conversations with a dysregulated child outside, anothernone might kick off.

I did a few years in SEND teaching and I liked it but we need to be honest. There's a HUGE tranch of kids that won't meet special school status but cannot function in a normal classroom. There needs to be a better way for everyone.

I think the surprise over waiting lists is misplaced to be honest. People seeking ADHD/ASD diagnoses has absolutely skyrocketed in the last 5 years alone. Of course they’re not going to be able to keep up with the demand. 10 years ago I hadn’t heard of ADHD outside of the context of ‘naughty teenage boys’. Now it seems every other person is seeking a diagnosis for themselves, their children or both. It’ll take time for the system to catch up, years and years probably.

@ohyesido
So you got a diagnosis in 4 weeks over a decade ago so you don't think not is hard to get a diagnosis now.

I guess the medication doesn't improve critical thinking skills does it.

If you think having to wait 7-10 years doesn't constitute 'hard to get' then I'm not sure what you would consider an obstacle.

7-10 years from the point of people thinking there us an issue will take must people past education. An education ruined by a lack of timely diagnoses.

But you got yours so all is good.

Your not wrong with this.

im aware of lots of trained professionals who believe that giving ADHD medication is the quickest way to diagnose.
the meds won’t work if you don’t have adhd. Obviously there will be a tiny minority where this might not be the case but still.
this will never happen though, highly unethical.

Well they will as a 7 year wait is a struggle.

@ohyesido what you wrote was

I honestly don’t believe it’s difficult to get an assessment

Which has led everyone to believe that you don't think it's that difficult to get an assessment.

@Craftyy I needed to read this today, thank you

Hear hear

Yes, obviously that’s a challenge. I was just stating that people who genuinely have the condition won’t struggle to get a diagnosis with the NHS. Whether or not a person has it won’t make a difference to how long they have to wait… not sure why that has been misinterpreted as I’m pretty sure I didn’t say nothing has changed since 2013 or that having adhd means you will be seen in 4 weeks. Perhaps i was diagnosed before the increase in referrals who knows

The difficulty is in the length of time you have to wait on the NHS in 2024.

that was in reference to actually getting a diagnosis, I don’t see how you could interpret that as a reference to the 7 year waiting list. How could the outcome of an assessment impact the length of time it takes to get it?

So even if you get a diagnosis they won't do anything meds wise until the international shortage improves

They changed mine in November and I was in the middle of titration so started on a low dose to increase gradually- they won't increase it or give me even an appointment for a med review until the supply situation is solved

It's bat shit

So why did you add

“I honestly don’t believe it’s difficult to get an assessment or diagnosis if you actually have it.”

What a ridiculous goady post. Even the NHS priority list that myself and my children were on is way longer than 4 weeks.

No, I was expressing surprise at how much has changed. Glad you were amused by your own inference though

You think the system is still exactly how it was 11 years ago? Thanks for that, I needed a good belly laugh.

Friend paid for irrefutable private diagnosis, still had to fight the education authority for three years.

7 years? In 2013, I approached my GP who referred me to a psychiatrist. I was assessed within 4 weeks, and diagnosed within 8 weeks.

have the inattentive strain of adult ADHD and no hyperactivity.

I was prescribed a form of stimulant medication and my life changed overnight.

I honestly don’t believe it’s difficult to get an assessment or diagnosis if you actually have it.

Not true at all. To the outside world, I'm very successful ('big job' in the City and utterly reliable) but the effort that masking takes exhausts me every day, even since childhood when my parents took my to the GP and they checked my thyroid etc and found nothing wrong. The personal cost that my "success" comes at means I have been unable to maintain a serious relationship with a partner (my RSD, amongst other things, is debilitating) so have chosen to be celibate for the past 20 years. The impulsive behaviour, the risk-taking....my whole life has been me taking everything right to the brink and then hanging on by my fingernails. And then menopause hit. OMG.

It never occurred to me that I might have ADHD. I'm one of 'those' middle aged women. A psychologist specialising in ND suggested it to me after he interviewed me for 2 hours. I was gobsmacked. And then I read the materials he sent me and it was the cliched lightbulb moment. Here was me thinking it was my personality when actually it was ADHD. I've since had a formal diagnosis. If I was younger, it would have changed my life completely. I have so many regrets about how different things could have been. But that's life. I take meds now. They really help. I wish this happened to me 30 years ago.

The point is you don't know how much better the quality of your children's lives could be with a diagnosis. Like exam support - even if its the opportunity to be in a smaller room to help with sensory overload - or a rest break during their exam they can take at their desk or leave the room. I would use my break as a toilet break.
It also allows them to identify which are their autistic / adhd traits and understand themselves - for my kids with ADHD I can say to them not to feel bad about X as that's an ADHD trait...but let's work out a strategy to avoid X in the future.

The point is that for some people ADHD and autism can be a debilitating disability so they need additional support.

I’ve got severe ADHD and it impacts every aspect of my life - on the surface I look like I’ve got my life together but, even medicated, I struggle to regulate my emotions, lose the things I need daily, get overwhelmed easily, impulsively spend, forget important work tasks or to pick up prescriptions, etc. Being diagnosed and medicated has hugely improved my quality of life even if it’s not a magic bullet.

I’ve also got a lifelong condition that causes hearing loss so I’ve worn hearing aids since my mid 20s. No one ever questions if that’s real, minimises the impact on me or suggests I shouldn’t seek help because I’m wasting the NHS’s time as I already know I can’t hear.

Surely medical care and support for any condition that impacts an individual is what we pay taxes and NI for?

That is interesting. See this is the kind of things it’s worth discussing - so we can make improvements in the system, not moan at other service users. The waiting list is not 8 years long in some places because 8 years worth of people were somehow referred for a diagnosis they don’t have (as is the opinion of some posters).

Don’t blame us for the NHS, blame greedy people having the audacity to make a GP appointment

I am in an area where the waiting list is very short.

What I notice is that in my area they do things differently compared to what i have read on here and other forums.

In my area the final diagnosis interview is around 1 hour long. Then if you get diagnosed the psychiatrist takes you to a nurse who does your weight height and BP then you are taken back to the psych who has been writing the notes of the interview and then you get written out a prescription

From reading on here and other forums in other areas you leave with your verbal diagnosis.

Then you get written to with a separate appointment for your height, weight and BP done and then you get written to again to go back for an appointment with the psychiatrist to discuss meds and get your prescription

I went in and was diagnosed and was leaving with my 1st prescription in 75 minutes

I think the other way of getting separate appointments is just so long winded and wastes everyone’s time.

Sometimes the long waiting lists are directly because of the systems in place in some parts of the NHS.

Bullshit.

What you might not see is the struggle someone might go through to be reliable or the monumental effort it takes to get up, go to work, get to appointments, do what's needed.

You won't see then collapsing in emotional exhaustion after work or spending their weekends frozen and stuck. Or self medicating without even realising.

Everything you've posted highlights that you know nothing and your attitudes are actively harmful.

Medication “to function” for the worried well is a far cry from that needed for people with a significant and disabling disorder

Yes, they can be dangerous in someone without ADHD. But that
doesn't stop people taking them as it can make them feel more focussed and they like the feeling.

my concern is precisely for people who actually need the medication to be able to function in life. I’ve seen at my work doctors very despondent about this, and the shortage of meds.