How quickly can you be assessed/diagnosed with ADHD if you go privately?

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Hopefully to a serious clinic and not one of those in that BBC thing.

This video was posted on twitter with the assurance that it was a good description of actual ADHD, rather than TikTok faddy stuff. I watched it mostly because I thought it would describe a debilitating condition that I definitely don’t have, for reassurance. But it made me cry because he basically describes me and my whole life.

I am actually in a pretty good place now, and wouldn’t normally be bothered about getting assessed etc. Except I am about to embark on my dissertation for my MSc and I just don’t know how I’m going to do it. It is very tempting to think there is some medication out there that would help me sit down and do the work at a sensible pace, instead of leaving it to the absolute last second (which is my standard procedure but it’s not possible to function like that for a dissertation!)

So if I do it it needs to be now, and quick, so NHS is out of the question. Do you think it would be worth pursuing it privately?

I'm going through a private assessment at present and have been told it will take up to 9 months.

How were you planning to manage your dissertation before you watched the video?

I didn’t have a fucking clue. I keep trying to tell people I don’t know how I’m going to do it and they all tell me ‘you’ll be fine!’

Going to have to figure it out though I guess as 9 months is a bit pointless

Can be done in two months - different clinics have different timescales. Will also depend on the waiting lists.

The only advice I can give you - I'm still learning this myself and it's all pretty new - is to try and work out what your triggers for hyperfocus are. And then try to trigger those triggers when you need to work. Of course working out your triggers is the hard bit as it's different for everyone but it's worth a try. Basically trying to learn how to harness the superpower bit of ADHD when you need it!

My DS1 had a private assessment and it took about 9 months from referral to the first meeting due to waiting lists then a further 6 months after that with school reports etc.

The private clinics I was recommended to have all closed their waiting lists until later this year (at the earliest). I got lucky as my employer referred me to a specialist provider that works with corporate occupational health teams only. Otherwise I'd still be trying to get on a waiting list for a private assessment. Everywhere is completely overwhelmed with people right now. 😫

That’s interesting. So far the only trigger is that is has to be done. 10 week module, a nice draft deadline 2 weeks before the actual deadline, only got going 3 days before the actual deadline and spent those 3 days in the library 9-5 and got it done.

The library environment definitely helps. Not sure if it would work without the urgency though.

Please don’t take the BBC drama too seriously. It’s been heavily criticised by the ADHD community for unfair and incorrect reporting.

Wait times differ across private companies so you would have to speak with them directly about their own wait times.

Thanks all who have replied, looks lovely like it might be quite variable. I’ll see if I can find some local info.

My friends son had a private assessment. From first appointment to diagnosis, it was a few months. There was quite a few appointments and info gathering from their GP, family and school.

Don’t know where that extraneous lovely came from.

I watched another one of that guy’s videos about the diagnosis process and he said about talking to a parent or someone who knew you as a child, and school reports etc, but I don’t have any of that.

Have you talked to anyone at your University about this? That would be the place to start. It is possible that you could ask for additional support in advance of a diagnosis, and even if that is not possible there may be other students - and staff - who can give you strategies to help. Good luck.

I went on waiting lists on the NHS and a private clinic at the same time. I got diagnosed by the nhs first. Took about 18 months for my assessment. However I have now been waiting a year to get an initial medication appointment booked. A lot of private clinics have massively increased waiting lists since promoting the right to choose pathway through the nhs and eventual shared care.