I run an ADHD/ASD assessment service

[Trolleydolly123]

As the title says, curious to hear questions/thoughts.

You must be busy.

Do you ever tell anyone they don’t have ADHD?

Yes ridiculously busy. Around 10% not diagnosed but this is also due to effective triage so only those highly likely to be diagnosed are taken onto wait list.

I have an appointment soon to have a potential diagnosis for ASD in my forties. I’ve been waiting a year. I’m now nervous. As an adult what will I be asked? Is getting a diagnosis worth it? Am I wasting peoples time?

For context, I was referred by another NHS service. I didn’t ask to be put forward. I’m married, 3 kids, success job, and it’s never something that had crossed my mind until nurse said, are you sure you’re not?…

So, just what to expect really. Thanks

Why do some companies do the second diagnosis cheaper? E.g first is a grand and then bung on the other for £350! Just to make money?

What do you think the reason is that so many people want to be assessed recently. I work in the NHS in a community role and at least one or two patients a day tell me they think they have adhd/autism as a reason they aren’t moving forward with xyz (generally taking ownership of their own health) but I’ve done this role for years and it’s seems such a step incline over the past 12 months.

Are you absolutely loaded.

What do you think about forthcoming changes to right to choose?

Likely to be asked lots about development, background, challenges with social interaction, sensory or perception issues, plus maybe other bits depending on how clear/unclear it is.
Lots find diagnosis helpful, but there is no 'treatment' so good to hold in mind what if anything will knowing or not knowing change, which is different for everyone.

No. Its an NHS service.

Social media. Symptoms are everywhere.

‘Effective triage’

A 90% diagnosis rate for self referrals is ridiculously high.

A mixture of increased awareness and social changes. A big spike in referrals nationwide post covid, unclear why really.

They are not self referrals.

Life is hard and very competitive.

I’ve recently had 2 people who already are successful by any measure and work in well paid roles tell me that the reason they can’t progress further is due to ADHD is ASD. It’s ridiculous. These are successful people! Not everybody can be the CEO.

I dont work in the private sector so cant comment.

By the time people have jumped through all the hoops to actually get to an assessment and have sat with all their own thought and reflections I can quite believe that 90% would meet criteria.

I guess if it was say an asthma clinic and you had to do a questionnaire asking about symptoms and then be referred by your Dr and then have a period of wondering if you're imagining it and keeping a record of your symptoms and checking they match... By the time you get to a clinic it would quite likely be asthma.. (poor example given asthma attacks and hospitals and things but couldn't think of anything else off the cuff).

“I saw this TikTok” is something I heard quite frequently when I was doing assessments.

You really can’t compare a physical and easily verified condition like asthma with mental conditions like ASD or ADHD. The diagnosis procedure relies on self reporting and subjective analysis.

Yeah I’ve heard this!

’I wanted him assessed for ADHD but for another £150 they’d do everything so I thought I might as well get home tested for autism as well’. Bonkers.

Do you think diagnosis criteria has been widened too far? Are we as a society pathologising normal lapses in concentration/ social awkwardness/ etc?

Are you getting a lot of people who really aren't diagnosable with either condition? I'm a primary teacher, and I'm having to fill in so many forms at the moment, where parents want to seek a diagnosis, even though we don't see anything at all in school to support it. I'm aware that people can mask, so we may not be seeing the full story. But it seems as though so many parents now think their child has adhd or autism?

Yes to some degree. I wonder if the entire population was assessed how many would be considered adhd or asd.
I think the key issue is level of impairment, if someone can function, maintain relationships, socially interact in an acceptable way, hold down a job etc, what will a diagnosis or not add or change. There is a rise in medicalising the normal human condition in many areas

Both my daughters have been diagnosed with nd. That’s the easy bit. The most frustrating thing is how few real options there are for treatment and support. Dd1 was prescribed medication for. ADHD but it didn’t really do a lot. The school wasn’t particularly interested as she wasn’t disruptive ( although she got extra time in exams). She hasn’t found any of the strategies she’s been given very helpful- I don’t think she has the capacity to use them in real life as gets overwhelmed. She still struggles with friendships and concentrating. I suppose I thought a diagnosis would one up more options to improve her life.

Thank you for providing assessments. I was an absolutely obvious case in hindsight but when I was little nobody thought girls could have autism unless they also had a profound learning disability. I just about coped through school and then had a nervous breakdown (autistic burnout) in my 20s at which point I was diagnosed with autism (by an NHS assessor, 15 years ago so no, nothing to do with tiktok).

I can say hand on heart that without that diagnosis, the self-understanding, and the adjustments I was then able to make to my life and work patterns, I would be out of work permanently and with incredibly poor mental health. As it is I am thriving. Other posters can sneer as much as they like but I know from first hand experience that the service you provide is positively life-changing.

Why did you make the assumption I was talking about employment? That’s actually not what I was talking about.

@MathsMagpie
i work in private practice, the reason for this is because there is some overlap in the assessments, for example both require a neuro history which can take up to 2 hours and are basically the same questions. So say a child initially comes for ADHD ax, has a history, Conners, QB and also provides school based reports then at the end doesn’t meet criteria but is showing signs of ASD, then to complete the ASD requires the add on of an ADOs and a social communication questionnaires. So why would we charge the full amount again when we already have half the information.