Anyone want to share their experience with ADHD assessment?

[JJ456]

I am thinking of paying to get assessed for ADHD as I think I have a lot of the traits and I’m finding it’s making life and work quite challenging. I was diagnosed with autism as a child but I think some of my experiences of struggling fall outside of this.

Can anyone tell me what it is like being assessed?

Hi op, have no advice but watching with interest. My DS and I are currently being assessed through the NHS (as of October) , I’ve had to go to my GP with mine and his school for him. The schools process seem a lot more invasive and I spent hours filling in forms for his symptoms but mine seemed pretty basic (6 questions and a telephone assessment asking why do I think I have it?) I’ve been told it can take up to 6 years which is soul destroying but I can’t afford a private assessment. Private assessments aren’t always taken seriously either. A NHS doctor doesn’t always medicate you based on a private assessment. A friend of mines son was diagnosed after 6 years and he struggled throughout his teens awaiting for assessment. I hope you have more luck getting yours diagnosed.

Highly recommend you look at the Right To Choose pathway if you live in England. The NHS contracts several private clinics to do assessments, choose one that will titrate and prescribe as GPs are refusing shared care agreements and NHS ADHD prescription services are rubbish. The waiting times for RtC are anywhere from 6 weeks - 18 months, depending on the clinic. Unfortunately it's not available in the other UK countries, only in England. Worth saying if you go private and are recommended meds the NHS won't fund it and you will be stuck with paying private prescription fees every month.
I'm on the RtC pathway since November and should be assessed by March.
https://adhduk.co.uk/right-to-choose/

Based on the experience of 2 DC with ADHD, you fill in a lot of forms about your behaviours, and there’s then a face-to-face/ video call discussion and assessment. The issues have to be present consistently across your life for a diagnosis.

A psychologist can diagnose ADHD but cannot prescribe meds, you need a psychiatrist for that so I would start there.

If you go privately and you go down the medication route, be aware that more and more NHS GPs are pushing back on shared care agreements so will not prescribe meds on the NHS where you have been diagnosed privately. If your psychiatrist is NHS as well as private you can push the point through Right To Choose, but surgeries make it very difficult.

Last point: if you have medical insurance through work check and see if it covers diagnosis. Mine does, for all staff and dependents.

My advice would be to think about the goal - if it's medication you think would help you do need the diagnosis. Work adjustments may also be valuable.

However, alongside any diagnosis processes, I would definitely look into environmental supports which can be a mix of systems and routines along side health and physical things. I've read that ADHD coaches can be helpful. Just incase you don't get the diagnosis.

This is really good advice. Unfortunately I do feel like I might benefit from medication. I am not so bad with it now but self medication is a big problem for me. Through uni I took a huge number of stimulants so I could sit down and write essays and now I stick to untold amounts of caffeine and nicotine but I still feel like it’s not great.

can't read it all. Diagnosed. I think if you have ADHD the biggest hurdle is diagnosis. The forms. the paperwork. the appointments; It's like asking a dyslexic to spell the shits and then they can get diagnosed.