Do you know anyone who paid for an adult ADHD/ASD assessment and was told they don't have it?

[thatsnotacactus]

As above.

Asking because a) I have had a recent conversation with someone who believed that non-NHS assessments are not to be trusted as "they just diagnose anyone who pays" and b) I am considering going down this route myself, and wondering if paying £££ to be told "you were wrong about that being the issue" might make my MH worse. I know the best way would be to go via the NHS but I don't have it in me to fight for it.

I do know someone who wasn’t diagnosed in a private assessment. Not everyone who thinks they have it does. I’m sure not all private assessments are equal though, so there may be some which diagnose everyone regardless.

I'd say a private assessment is more likely to result in a diagnosis as people are more likely to be pretty certain before the pay.

In my adult sons case, they did a fixed fee initial assessment to screen if they felt it was worth doing a full assessment so whilst they don't say that a full assessment will definitely result in a diagnosis, they would have already excluded those who were unlikely to be diagnosed.

I'd imagine most private assessors would do similar.

The cost of the initial screen is deducted from the fee of the full assessment if you chose that route.

Yes I do. A friend had 2 private ADHD assessments for her child - the first one didn’t diagnose so she used a different company - who also didn’t diagnose.

A lot of the private companies do NHS work as well and use the same diagnostic criteria for both NHS and private assessments. Round here, all ASD and ADHD assessments are outsourced to a private company now - my daughter was diagnosed and assessed through the NHS, by a private company.

Yes - my friend was told she didn't have ADHD - the doctor did a detailed explanation of why and gave her some other things to consider, which really helped her.

Check with your GP how this will work before you pay.

In my trust, they won't take over supplying meds until you've had your NHS assessment anyway - so you'd need to pay for the initial screen, the meds and the check-ups until you had your NHS assessment anyway. The official reason why is that the quality of third-party diagnostics varies massively. My doctor said they all know some companies that just agree and prescribe, regardless of if you have the issue. It can definitely be a case of "buying" the label.

Is your MH in a good enough place for an assessment? Done right, they probably will push you a bit to find out what is habit/personality, and what is because of a condition.

But to answer your question - yeah, a couple. There was a flurry of people who paid for assessments during/after lockdown, when ADHD/ASD was all over social media, and I know a few people who paid for assessments and were told that they didn't have the condition, and one who thought she had ADHD but has been diagnosed with BPD instead. Most do seem to get diagnosed, though - presumably because you're most likely to part with money if you're pretty sure. If you're not confident, you'd be more likely to wait for the free NHS assessment, I'd imagine.

You'd have to decide what difference it would make to your life one way or the other, I suppose.

I worked with a student who went for a private ADHD assessment & wasn’t diagnosed with it. It does happen.

I know someone who had an NHS assessment that said she didn’t have ASD. She decided that was wrong and paid for a private assessment which hey presto decided she did have ASD…

There is a BBC panorama documentary on this, private ADHD clinics exposed, worth a watch

Thing is you wouldn't probably go for one unless you really think something is up. Costs money, nothing really changes if GP won't do shared care.

Been really useful for me, I manage my life better.

I get a bit cross about people thinking it's a fad or a label.

Not really - exceptionally biased. And oblivious to the clear fact of @BigBoysDontCry's first sentence.

Yes. Full assessment for both ASD and ADHD, not diagnosed, but support and ways forward discussed for the needs the assessment identified.

I was diagnosed privately with a a psychiatrist who also works for the NHS. Having read up fairly extensively about NHS and private processes I felt my assessment was as rigorous at least as the typical NHS experience.

My adult DD is on the ASD/ADHD waiting list (NHS Right to Choose), we are not sure she has enough traits to meet the diagnostic thresholds for either but she certainly has a lot of neurodivergent characteristics and difficulties and we really want these assessed and suggestions made for what would help even if it doesn't result in an actual diagnosis. I'd be prepared to pay for private for her even with no certainty but she doesn't want me to.

My adult DD is having an initial consultation soon, after waiting over a year on the NHS waiting list with at least another two years to wait. Exactly the same set up as up describe.

A relative hoped ADHD would explain everything, but the psychologist just told her that it was the already diagnosed depression.

We had DD assessed at 18 as her college had suggested ASD or ADHD or similar.
The Private service we used said there was a possibility she did have some form of Autism everything could equally be caused by Anxiety. They spent an hour with DD and also got her to do an online assessment and spoke to me and DH for around an hour as well. We were pretty sure she did have Anxiety already so no surprise really
If we had chosen further assessment they would have made more money from us so I do feel that they were being very honest

Thanks for all the replies. I hoped to get back to the thread sooner but got distracted!

I don't really want to get into all my reasons for seeking assessment but I have diagnosed ND children, a clearly ND parent and have been "different" since I was a kid. I was given a BPD diagnosis in my late teens and I don't think it's the real reason (not least because relationships aren't really something I struggle with, as long as people "like me for me").

I don't think I would be referred for an NHS assessment as I'm not in crisis like I was when younger (20 years ago when ND wasn't really talked about). And it's such a stressful long process that I just can't face the cognitive load of going through it!

I referred myself for an NHS assessment, I didn' t need to go via the GP. I've had to wait 2 years but I'm having the assessment next month.

My private diagnosis was via a company that do the NHS waiting lists anyway. Speaking to a leading researcher on ADHD they also said that self diagnoses on the whole are pretty accurate - if you've read the ins and outs of ADHD and are convinced enough to shell out then chances are you know yourself well enough to be right.

In what way biased? I thought very fair, in particular being upfront with the clinics that this was for a documentary to research whether private clinics were giving out unwarranted diagnosis - and the clinic STILL gave an unwarranted diagnosis!

I think it’s more than adults will know themselves well and be able to articulate what has been going on over the years. Few would pay for an assessment on the off chance. So statistically probably the vast, vast majority of private assessments result in diagnosis, I don’t think that makes them unreliable (as a rule, obviously occasionally rogue providers might exist).

To be honest, I don't really think it matters. Some people are not very good at paying attention and being organised. The bar for this to be diagnosed as a medical condition has been lowered and lowered and lowered recently - especially among more affluent sections of society.

If someone has problems with paying attention and being organised, they need support with paying attention and being organised in work and educational settings.

having or not having the label doesn't matter.

If you are not very good at paying attention and being organised, then you know you are not very good at paying attention and being organised. Having a diagnosis, that just tells you you are not very good at paying attention and being organised. Which you, and probably everyone around you, already knew.

I know someone who completely faked it and fully admits it. They get all sorts of accommodations through work (local authority) and now don’t even have to do some parts of their job they dislike. They consider it £700 well spent.

I think it depends on what you feel an official diagnosis will give you. If you think you need medicating for it, I’d say potentially worth it. I spoke to my doctor a while ago regarding it. I feel very sure I have ADHD. I’ve spent 20 years thinking I’m just a really incompetent adult and get so frustrated with myself. My doctor was really kind but explained the waiting list is huge and asked if I thought medication would help. For me, no. He said he couldn’t diagnose me but said I certainly sound as though I have the traits of somebody with ADHD. And to be honest, that was enough. It allowed me to go away and come to terms with the fact that I’m not this bumbling idiot I thought I was. I took the time to consider the things I struggle with and this allowed me to begin putting things in place to help. I spoke to my boss at work and now rather than constantly feeling like I’m trying to cover up the stuff that I’m rubbish with (remembering things, prioritising, organisation) they took this on board and helped me put processes in place. Sorry that’s such a long reply but just an alternative view that might help if you don’t want to go down the private diagnosis route: