To wonder what happens at a first adhd nhs appt?

[Pieundchip]

Shes 13. It didnt really say anything in the letter. So i dont know whether to gather more info/look back at when she was younger?

Did you post this in the wrong place?

To answer your question if this is the very first NHS appointment after a referral from GP or school with the paediatric team they’ll want a full developmental history. age crawled, walked, talked etc. They’ll just ask you verbally. You don’t need exact dates just rough age is fine.

They’ll also ask her medical history and if there were any complications in pregnancy / childbirth. If you were on any medication when pregnant. If you smoked/drank. That kind of stuff.

Any family medical issues or learning disabilities etc.

They’ll also want to know when you first noticed symptoms, did she show the symptoms at nursery/school as well as home, examples etc.

Who lives in your home with you.

current symptoms / difficulties.

They basically want to know as much as possible to see wether it fits the criteria for ADHD or if the symptoms could be caused by something different.

Whilst this is happening they’ll also be observing her responses and behaviour.

They ask a lot of questions. Way more than I’ve mentioned, it’s quite intense.

At the end they’ll do height, weight, ask if she has any birth marks etc. due to age they might want to know if she’s started her period yet etc. they’ll also do a physical examination, listen to heart etc if she consents. My daughter was like absolutely not!

They may refer for blood tests and genetic tests.

Then they tell you wether they will be referring for an assesment. Then you go on a waiting list for the actual ADHD assesment.

Theres probably more I’ve forgotten but you get the gist. Takes about 60-90 mins.

I think it can vary by area but this is a rough outline of the first appointment where I live.

Hope that helps!

Thank you. The sen boards dont really get much traffic.
How long was the wait after this appt where you are?
its interesting because none of the questions will show them anything as everything was normal. No alcohol or smoking. Full term.

Except having icsi. And ventuose and forceps ( and antibiotics from day 1). And jaundice.

Dp side of family is pretty impulsive though with one diagnosed adhd.

Yes mine doesnt like medical things so not sure she would leg them listen to her heart. But she did have a heart murmur

Have you been asked to complete any questionnaires yet? They will usually ask the school, yourself and possibly your child to complete these. They will need to show symptoms in more than one setting

Sometimes there can be a long gap after the initial appointment, depends on where you live of course. We waited almost 3 years.
Think of examples of what makes you think she might have ADHD. But other than that they will have all the questions. Enquiring into the background can seem odd but if there is an alternative explanation for symptoms it's important that they find that out and don't misdiagnose.

The wait here was up to 3 years. So we did it via right to choose in the end which took 9 months start to finish.

We’ve found that with our very clearly ND kiddo (early years) that there’s just a lot of tick box exercises but no actual intervention. And everything takes an absolute age. Best prepared with some notes so you don’t forget anything.