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Can a private school access child's NHS medical records? ADHD diagnosis

104 replies

Questionsquestions12 · 20/08/2023 12:15

Hello

DD was diagnosed a year ago and we tried some medication but it didn't help much, and over the last 6 months or so we feel symptoms are not really impacting/have gone. In hindsight, many of our concerns and DD's symptoms were from stress of moving house and changing schools.

We haven't disclosed the ADHD diagnosis to new senior school because we don't feel it's relevant anymore. Can the school access medical records (haven't read through the pages and pages of T&Cs but the acceptance form did say that we should declare any health information.

OP posts:
Riapia · 20/08/2023 13:17

Your DD won’t have been the first to have been miss-diagnosed with ADHD.
Schools will be aware of this.

Cestfoutu · 20/08/2023 13:20

A school cannot access NHS records as stated by many. However, if your child has difficulties I do not understand why you wouldn't want them to be aware. I should warn you that one private school I worked at had a box to tick if your child had additional needs (so they could be planned for, rather than to prevent them attending the school). One child came, had extreme behavioral problems and was asked to leave as the parents had essentially lied about him.

Sirzy · 20/08/2023 13:24

I think by not telling them you’re doing her a disservice on two levels.

if school are aware they can look out for issues and help pick them up before they develop. They can employ the right methods to help her reach her potential.

by not telling them your also send her the message that her ADHD is something to be ashamed of which won’t help her at all going forward

Questionsquestions12 · 20/08/2023 14:39

DD knows she had some mild ADHD inattentive symptoms. We talked about it at the time and continue to talk about it afterwards. The diagnosis was carried out with input from parents, DD and a private tutor.

If school raised issues or concerns down the line, I suppose we would have her re-assessed at that point in time. I suppose we could have her re-assessed now actually - that's something I hadn't thought about and will give it some thought.

OP posts:
Questionsquestions12 · 20/08/2023 14:41

For context, reading back through her diagnosis she is borderline and sometimes just under the qualifying scores. It feels as though had we answered one to two questions in the assessment slightly differently (as we would if the assessment was being carried out now), then DD may not even meet the threshold for diagnosis.

OP posts:
Questionsquestions12 · 20/08/2023 14:42

DD is also dyslexic and this diagnosis has been shared with the school. Many of the methods and support DD will have in place for her dyslexia are the same as those she might have for ADHD.

OP posts:
sparklefresh · 20/08/2023 14:45

Why get her diagnosed if you weren't going to use the diagnosis to access support for her?

Rainbowsandrainclouds1 · 20/08/2023 14:49

Why on earth would you not want to help your daughter. This is utterly bizarre.

Do you actually have any comprehension of how well middle class girls, particularly intelligent one can mask their symptoms? Your daughter is likely exhusted and you're doing your best to cover up her 'shameful' disorder.

I spent my entire life masking, under achieving and wonder what was wrong with me only to get a diagnosis in my 30's. Its been life changing. If I'd found out my parents knew and had supressed my diagnosis it would devastating and would irreparably ruin our relationship.

off · 20/08/2023 14:53

off · 20/08/2023 12:50

If you genuinely believe that your DD would no longer meet criteria for ADHD (as opposed to just thinking that it might be more judicious not to let her new school know about it), then why not get her re-assessed? I'm guessing that, since the last assessment was private and she'll be attending a private school, that wouldn't be out of reach for you. Then, if it turns out you're right and it was just stress, you can stop worrying about having to conceal this diagnosis.

Of course, there's only any point to this if you commit to being as honest as possible with the assessor giving the second opinion. I know how easy it can be to (even unintentionally) skew an assessment one way or another (though with an experienced and skilled assessor, they should be able to minimise the impact of this), through things like your choice of assessor/assessment service, the information and documents you choose to present or withhold, the way you frame your descriptions and the language you use to characterise the difficulties, emphasising or de-emphasising different aspects, arranging or not arranging things so that the person being assessed is comfortable and has any supports they need, and so on.

I'm not insinuating that you're a dishonest person, by the way — I think it's human nature to present things in the way that's most likely to get you the outcome you really want or that you believe to be the correct one, even if you try to be scrupulously honest.

For me personally, I have (NHS, adult) diagnoses of both ASD and ADHD, and for both of them, I know that the mindset I approached the assessments with, and hence the information the assessor had to go on, may very well have had some influence on the outcome.

WRT ASD, I've been told by an autism-experienced psychologist who knew me very well that she had no doubt I could "fake normal" in an assessment if that's what I wanted to do — I'm sure that could be subconscious, too, if I really believed I wasn't autistic and/or didn't want a diagnosis.

And for the ADHD in particular, I don't actually think of myself as having ADHD and never have, in that I don't believe that the difficulties I experience are truly those that were intended to be captured by the ADHD diagnosis criteria. I do technically meet the criteria, and at no point did I lie to or try to mislead the psychiatrist assessing me, but for the ADHD assessment I was aware I was framing my difficulties differently from how I usually do — through an ADHD lens, rather than an ASD one. I was invested in obtaining the diagnosis because I suspected the ADHD medications could help with what I think of as my ASD-related executive functioning and circadian rhythm difficulties, and this preferred outcome inevitably influenced how I presented things to the assessor.

I wonder if you were motivated to get your DD assessed by something like a hope that medication would help her, or by a desire for a no-fault explanation with a ready-made set of strategies to try, and, looking back on the assessment and diagnosis process, feel that, at that time, you may have presented things in a way that skewed the picture the assessor received — and therefore now feel unable to trust the outcome. Unless the assessor was very poor, they shouldn't have given a diagnosis based solely on symptoms displayed during a recent period of unusual stress, so it's likely that there were other aspects of how your DD is that, when presented in the right way and examined by someone looking for ADHD features, would fit that framework, but perhaps you're now looking at those features through a different lens. (And if it was a poor or inadequate assessment — and other posters have pointed out that school input would normally be taken into account — then another, better assessment would seem to be in order anyway.)

Of course, the risk of your own hopes, desires and beliefs affecting the outcome of an assessment would exist with a second one, too — if your feeling now is that your DD does not truly have ADHD, the same factors could apply. There's also the risk of ending up feeling even more uncertain, if there's one "yes" and one "no". That's why it's vital IMO that you commit to giving the assessor access to all relevant information possible, including the previous assessment report and if possible information from school and any other relevant settings. And it's important to go into it with an understanding that the second assessment may confirm the diagnosis.

It seems to me that, unless you get a second, as rigorous as possible assessment, your uncertainty over this diagnosis, and unwillingness to disclose it to people who need to know, will hang over you and your DD. If she has a reliable diagnosis of ADHD she has a right to know about it and she shouldn't be expected to keep that a secret if she doesn't want to. If you feel her diagnosis was unreliable (either because of an inadequate assessment, or because of the natural human tendency to present things in a way that will get the outcome we believe or want to be right, or both) then you shouldn't leave her with either (a) a question mark over the diagnosis of a condition she genuinely has, or (b) an incorrect diagnosis which hasn't been overturned — and shouldn't burden her with having to keep it from everyone at school, either.

Either she has ADHD, and your uncertainty about the correctness of her diagnosis and your unwillingness to disclose it will mean she doesn't receive the support she should. And there's the fact that either you keep her in the dark about it, or make her feel she has to hide it at school. It also means she can't feel confident herself about her diagnosis, or validated, or any of the other emotional purposes a firm diagnosis can serve.

Or she doesn't have ADHD, and your decision to get her assessed, plus your choice of assessor and/or decisions about what information to provide them with have left her with an inaccurate and uncontested diagnosis in her past and on her records, which could detrimentally affect her in a whole different set of ways.

With the best of intentions, you caused this situation, and the only way I can see of fixing it is to reassess with extreme thoroughness. Ideally NHS (they're still seen as more credible by some), but we all know she'll be doing her A levels by the time that comes through, if they even let her on the waiting list in the first place

Ladyj84 · 20/08/2023 14:53

If he was diagnosed by a professional sorry they don't just go away. They ease for long periods and can increase with stress etc. Not sure why you would want to hide it from the school because should it flare up one day there they have no clue how to help your child the best

iknowimcoming · 20/08/2023 14:56

Questionsquestions12 · 20/08/2023 14:41

For context, reading back through her diagnosis she is borderline and sometimes just under the qualifying scores. It feels as though had we answered one to two questions in the assessment slightly differently (as we would if the assessment was being carried out now), then DD may not even meet the threshold for diagnosis.

I have adhd. I find it troubling that whoever diagnosed your Dd as borderline/not quite hitting the threshold in some areas would prescribe meds. Was she diagnosed by someone credible?

It also bothers me that you feel her adhd may have gone away, not to mention your keenness to hide the diagnosis from her school, as though it's some kind of dirty secret!

off · 20/08/2023 14:57

Apologies OP — took me a while to type that, and you made a couple of posts in the meantime.

Also have just realised how long and repetitive it was. It's the bloody Elvanse Grin

Mrsjayy · 20/08/2023 14:58

You are embarressed that your dd has adhd and see it as a failing /weakness and are scared the school you are paying for ask her to leave. That is shocking your notion that her private school status is more important than her neurodiversity being accommodated!

Mrsjayy · 20/08/2023 14:59

I mean she doesn't have a cold!

Mrsjayy · 20/08/2023 15:01

But no the school obvious can't access her NHS records

BCCoach · 20/08/2023 15:03

No they can’t. And previous schools cannot pass any information to the new school either without your explicit consent. As parents you own and control your child’s data.

Dolores87 · 20/08/2023 15:04

I think you should consider getting her reassessed now if you think is a misdiagnosis instead of just deciding its a misdiagnosis yourself and not disclosing to her school. You say it was a private assessment. Her assessment should have just been you answering questions they should have observed her also and done the QR test etc. I think you should tell school she was diagnosed but you are seeking a second opinion and get a reassessment.

Dolores87 · 20/08/2023 15:05

Also when getting a reassessment dont tell them you think a misdiagnosis so it doesn't influence anything.

Littlefish · 20/08/2023 15:05

Iam4eels · 20/08/2023 12:29

I've got to say too that if we had a child in my school who had a diagnosis that wasn't disclosed to us and this later came to light then it would definitely be raised with our safeguarding lead as a cause for concern.

I agree.

I'm also the parent of a child who was diagnosed as a mid-teen, whilst at a private school.

A change of school, combined with puberty can bring about a huge exacerbation of ADHD symptoms. Please don't underestimate this. Even though your child may not need support now, that is absolutely no indication that they won't need a high level of support later.

If the T&C say you have to share medical conditions, then do it.

If you don't declare it, and then your child needs support, the school will absolutely be within their rights to withdraw your child's place.

Don't risk it.

Ohthatsabitshit · 20/08/2023 15:11

of course you don’t have to tell school or anyone.

MumblesParty · 20/08/2023 15:23

No the school can’t access her medical records.

Private clinics are known to over-diagnose ADHD. If she’s fine now I’d just forget all about it.

Magneta · 20/08/2023 15:24

I think it's a mistake to kid yourself that school will flag up any concerns so until they mention it, you don't need to.

There is a massive gap between traits that a teacher might wonder about and a teacher getting enough evidence and conviction to risk raising to a parent. We used to think no one raising it was a sign of the child being "fine" but it really wasn't. Many teachers don't see it as their role to suggest further investigation or don't want to risk upsetting parents, who can be very defensive and angry when their child is "accused" of having a need. Especially, I would hazard, ADHD which can have a bit of a stigma.

You say you've revisited the report and it's borderline or whatever. All the more reason to raise it with them IMO. Raise it as a watching wait or whatever if you must - we have this report, could you keep an eye out. But mention it, however you need to spin it. I do think it's a shame for your daughter that you seem keen to minimise it, because she will be getting the message that it's something to hide and be ashamed of. Reassessing is a perfectly good way forward, but do be aware that coping with revision and sitting 9 fully examined GCSE exams is pretty overwhelming . My daughter had 20 exams in 21 days and only 40% of ONE subject was coursework. No coursework or texts for eg English, they have to learn endless quotes for 3 books and 15 poems and be able to construct arguments around them. It's a huge amount of pressure. You can't rely on it being less stressful than moving house, believe me. And a diagnosis that's only a year old is far too current to be dismissed as ancient history. No child grows out of ADHD in a year.

SoupDragon · 20/08/2023 15:27

Questionsquestions12 · 20/08/2023 14:42

DD is also dyslexic and this diagnosis has been shared with the school. Many of the methods and support DD will have in place for her dyslexia are the same as those she might have for ADHD.

additional support DD got as a result of her diagnosis include a quiet room for exams and an allowance for breaks. She already had extra time and laptop use for dyslexia.

Why don't you want to tell the school?

DD is at a private school. They don't care about the diagnosis as long as she meets the required academic standard, other than giving her any support she might need.

Marchitectmummy · 20/08/2023 15:30

I don't understand why you wouldn't want your daughter to get the help she needs. If you doubt the diagnosis is correct why not get her reassessed.

Anyway that to one side, I'm not sure if your daughter is already attending a private school or you are intending to send to one now you have diagnosed. Either way I would check what fees are charged for children requiring additional support. My children attend 3 different private schools and one common thread to them all is any additional needs will result in additional fees.

Unlike state schools there is no cushion, if something extra is needed you will need to pay. So if your child is dyslexic at all 3 of our daughters schools the fee increases by minium 50%.

waterrat · 20/08/2023 15:33

A truly effective assessment should have included her school who see her all day every day

If you reasses her it would be pointless to do it without waiting until school know her better abd involving them

I find it irresponsible that she was diagnosed without her senco being involved

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