No support for adult ADHD

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My partner has ADHD and autism. A few months ago my partner went to a few meetings with a local autism and ADHD service, I went to 1 meeting to take notes as I booked the day off work.

They said they will help support him with employment etc as he is temporarily off work due to illness and was a carer for his mother. They kept pressuring him in the summer to take their medication. He took it and had a very bad allergic reaction and it made him very ill. They kept phoning telling him needed to go back on it.

He wanted to some employment support this week and now they are saying they won’t support him as he refused medication so is no longer a patient. I have seen the email. I feel sad that because he won’t take medication because it made him ill he is being penalised. I keep hearing more about services not supporting people with these disabilities.

Are there any other services who can help or is this a funding issue everywhere? Thanks.

It will be a diagnostic / treatment service

I.e medication. ….

they will not be commissioned to provide alternative treatment to the evidence based prescribed ones and not ‘support’ whatever that means ????

Nope. I was diagnosed in the 90s and since I was my early 20s help has fallen off a ledge.

Although to be fair help in the 90s was mostly “have you tried making a list”.

Has he tried access to work??

So he tried one kind of ADHD medication and then just gave up? And didn't wait to even see if the side effects go away? There is often an adjustment period going on those meds. I'm always sick for at least a week going on or coming off Adderal. But its the meds that work best for me. Over the years I've tried 7 other kinds. But your partner was one and done?

Although to be fair help in the 90s was mostly “have you tried making a list”.

Yes, that was one of the “helpful” solutions I got from ADHD coaching about 5 years ago so I’m not sure things have moved on that much!

Has he tried other medications or just the first one?

My son is medicated, school were talking about suspending him (this is his third school placement and hes only 9) so we added in a second medication that put his heart into arrhythmia and he collapsed so of course he came straight off the medication but his team swapped him on to a third medication and were all working on finding optimum levels and medications for him

It sounds a little odd that they only offered one type and kicked him off the books for being unable to take that one

I've been offered counselling support and referral to group support, not for me, but offered. It would be highly unethical to remove that offer on the basis of whether or not I continued with medication. If you read the OP, it's quite clearly stated:

They said they will help support him with employment etc as he is temporarily off work due to illness and was a carer for his mother.

If that is predicated on taking medication it is unethical. If it was offeres and is not an available service, again, that's unethical. Not really sure why you think you know better than the OP what happened in the appointment.

Something isn't right, maybe a miscommunication? Did your DH miss an appointment or say something incorrectly, or the GP hasn't passed on their concerns? I'm on stimulant meds, and it's common to have to switch through a few meds during titration to find the right one, or end up not using any meds at all if they're not suitable. Did they think it was more a lack of engagement on his part? Not sure which department it would be, but I'm under the local trust's ADHD clinic and also occupational health. The nurse at the clinic is in charge of saying which scrips I can have, which the GP then approves, so my GP doesn't get involved in how I am on the meds. The clinic wouldn't have a problem with taking me off meds if they didn't work.