AIBU to ask who to go to for an ADHD assessment for my 23 year old DS?

[Retirer123]

DS currently in final year of Uni. He has a diagnosis already for Dyslexia and Dyspraxia. This diagnosis was made by an assessor recommended by his uni. He receives Disabled Students Allowance which pays for a specialist mentor to support him with his studies. His mentor feels that DS has difficulties typical of a person with ADHD.

I was wondering who would be good to approach for an ADHD diagnosis? I know that the NHS is on its knees, so the wait for an NHS assessment would be very long. I was wondering about the possibility of paying privately for a diagnosis for ADHD.

Does anyone have any ideas about who we could contact with regard to getting a private diagnosis for ADHD?

Thanks for any advice.

He's 23 so he'll need to do it himself. He needs to speak to his Gp and ask to be referred to Psychiatry Uk, they're a huge organisation that do assessments online, he'll have various forms to fill in, can be time consuming but it's worth it.

They close thier waiting lists every now and then but they always open up again.

Google "private adhd diagnoses in X county" as a start.

Some universities can refer for testing. You could ask the disabled students advisor. If not then would definitely be able to suggest a route to get tested.

Thanks all. You have all given me some great advice.

I asked friends that I knew had gone private for a referral.

I have contacted someone and it's £1200 - this is for a teen so kit sure if it's any different for adults / if that's average.

I'm hoping for a school referral so I can go through my work healthcare but otherwise I am going to just pay, her dad has been recently diagnosed through NHS and I'm convinced she has it so I will consider it money well spent if it gets her the help she needs.

My DS was 20 when he received his ADHD diagnosis. He went through the GP who marked it as urgent due to some significant problems/risks it was causing. It took six months, as in our area they have a separate place they do them.
Ask about ‘right to choose’.

Go to an experienced consultant psychiatrist who also works in the NHS or has done in the past. Avoid the likes of ADHD360 who use all nurses and pharmacists to diagnose.

He needs to see his GP and ask for a right to choose referral to his preferred private assessment centre. I did this for my 13 year old daughter last year. Saw the GP and asked for a right to choose ASD assessment with Clinical Partners. The assessment was done within 4 weeks a diagnosis made within 8 weeks funded by the NHS. Not enough people know about this.

My 23 year old son got diagnosed this year. Things had got pretty desperate and life had pretty much stopped for him, he was in a very dark place. We spoke to GP, my son had to give permission due to his age. She advised that waiting lists in our area were 4 years, we tried Psychiatry UK but their list was closed due to overwhelming numbers. In the end we researched private psychiatrists near us, contacted a few and whittled it down to a couple that seemed the right fit. We wanted someone who could see him face to face, and specialised in ADHD assessments.
It’s turned out our son has ADHD and ASD, explains so much. It’s not been easy, but things are slowly improving.
I wish you luck with your son, and hope he gets the help he needs.

Our assessment was done by 2 physcologists 1 being a consultant

Get the referral first then I went to The Priory for my DD14 but do some research around who is good in your area and where they practice first.
I went to the Priory because the consultant I wanted worked there.

Thanks everyone for your posts. You have all been so helpful.

@Notfeelinghunkydory Thank you very much for this advice. We're Clinical Partners good?

They were. Extremely thorough. Was done via video calls

They don't prescribe if seen via RTC so you'll have the diagnosis but not treatment til you get to the top of the nhs list

I've also used Clinical Partners and was impressed with how thorough they were. Their report was also reviewed by our GP and was fine for them to take on shared care agreement.

I would go with ADHD360 personally. In Feb update they said waiting time was eight weeks with no additional queue for titration. Psychiatry UK were quoting 12 months for assessment and another three for titration.

So you're talking eight weeks vs 15 months!

Can his uni help at all as I got a renewed Dyslexia report done at uni. Obviously this directly effects my learning but I'd argue so does adhd. I'd make sure you use somone following the nice guidelines and look for a non profit or charity who also offer post assessment support, not just a buisness like some pp mentioned who whack out diagnosis.

I used divergence who are local to me and have been excellent.

Tbh, the whole process is frustrating.

I was put on NHS waiting list in Feb 23 but didn't know about RTC. Asked to be referred to Psychiatry UK in Sept 23. Due to some cock up with my application I wasn't added to the list until Dec 29th, and at that point was looking at another 15 months wait - so over two years in total.

I asked last week to be transferred to ADHD360 waiting list so hopefully will be sorted in next 2-3 months now.

What's annoying is that I already have an ADHD diagnosis from my teens and was taking the meds until around 18yo. Seems stupid having to be rediagnosed at 30yo as it's not really a condition that goes away. I feel pretty much the same as I always did.

Private or RTC? At the moment they don't prescribe on RTC.

Be careful. ADHD is nurse and pharmacist led and you won't see a doctor. My practice shares care with RTC and private on a case by case basis - we wouldn't share care with ADHD 360. They also have a poor CQC rating.

Private. I did the initial assessment and titration process with them and then set up the shared care agreement with the GP. The titration cost about the same again as the initial assessment. Prescriptions were expensive. But has been worth it.

https://www.adhdadult.uk/diagnosis/
There is lots of info online about diagnosis routes.

Personally - if your son is very confident it's ADHD, go NHS Right to Choose.
If he thinks there might be something else or he just wants a more in depth assessment, pay privately.

Don't go anywhere near ADHD360 - I have seen one of their reports written by a pharmacist, it's not just bad press.

Also, as others have said, this has to come from your son not from you, does he want this? If he doesn't want to be medicated, there won't be much benefit to a diagnosis.

I did RTC with Psychiatry UK and it took about a year from referral to dx and treatment as opposed to the 4 year waiting list. I don't know about attending the appt but there is a section to be completed by an informant so you should definitely be involved in that part

This has me a little worried now. It's a referral through the GP so would be odd if they refused to share care but maybe I'm naive. I was on Ritalin for about a decade in my childhood.