Can they get an adhd assessment wrong?

[ncaibu]

I had an assessment for adhd recently, they concluded that I don't have adhd and that my symptoms/traits are a combination of past trauma and stress. I accepted this, but I keep wondering if there's the possibility they got it wrong. I'm not sure I depicted my reality thoroughly. I've been through a long term emotionally abusive relationship recently and didn't tell them that I was still caught up in it, the results of which meant I wasn't myself. One example is that it made me feel very depressed and completely dulled my spontaneity, impulsivity and obsessive urges. I based all my answers to their questions on how I felt at the time, which is not how I am usually. I was just very consumed by the effect the relationship had on me. Is it possible the outcome of the assessment was wrong? It's really playing on my mind.

Also, I believe part of their decision was due to factors from my childhood. They didn't have much info to go on, no school reports etc, but implied that I wouldn't have been able to read a book if I had ADHD (I was a big reader as a child), and that I wouldn't have been able to complete 2 big school projects I mentioned that I enjoyed.
Is this correct?

If you are diagnosed with inattentive ADHD you are obliged to inform the DVLA, if you drive, and also your insurer.

I had a relatively similar outcome when I went for an assessment with a private company last year. I've always had some ADHD traits but midlife, running a household,family responsibility and more seniority at work ..it definitely seemed like there was something there. I thought it might help me understand why I find some things most don't struggle with, so hard.
I was also discounted as the assessor felt 'I would have struggled more as a child or in the workplace if I was to meet the criteria for diagnosis '.
I did find it quite upsetting at the time, sounds silly but felt like I'd failed the assessment and really hoped it would be a missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle. I'm trying to implement more strategies to help with my organisation and to have more self compassion for myself. I've decided not to have a second opinion for now.Good luck for the future.

This!

It's only fairly recently that the impact of trauma is really being understood

Yes have a second opinion but you'd probably have to go private, I can't see the NHS helping with a second opinion when there's such a massive backlog of ppl.on the waiting list to be assessed.
People with adhd can read and some are excellent readers.

I'm sorry but saying you wouldn't have been a big reader if you have ADHD...thats reason itself to ask for a second opinion. I know 2 people with ADHD, one has an MBA and a really senior business role which requires a lot of research of complex stuff so she reads a lot, the other is a teacher!! One was telling me how she has hyperfocus so can read / work / focus for hours. Its literally part of ADHD being able to hyperfocus like that. Whoever told you that about not reading books was talking complete crap.

Imo, I think a lot of people who are diagnosed with adhd have childhood truama, they are both very similar to each other. I think people underestimate the damage done to the young childs/babys brain when going through truama/neglect/abuse.

I’m surprised they didn’t diagnose you. We often see misdiagnosis of autism when actually there has been trauma or a lack of early childhood experiences but ADHD is a bit different. It is well documented that ADHD is more of a set of symptoms and has less of a clear cut neurological cause than other neurodivergent conditions and is highly associated with (among other things): adverse childhood experiences, low income, poor speech and language, excessive screen time etc.

Therefore if you are experiencing attention difficulties then it can generally be said that you “have” adhd, regardless of cause.

Is it perhaps that they feel your attention difficulties are not impacting significantly enough on your functioning? That’s the difference really between someone with a diagnosis, and someone who is just a bit scatty.

Adverse childhood experiences and trauma literally rewire the brain!

The question I always come back to at work is : what would a label give you that you do not already have?

Sometimes for adhd people want to access medication but more generally it is to give a reason to the difficulties they are experiencing. However it sounds as though the op already knows why they are having difficulties - they have experienced trauma.

I feel exactly the same as you. I’m adhd’d out my nut due to ongoing issues with my ex who I separated from 4 years ago (he counterparents). As I child I remember being a bit impulsive, had doom piles, felt panicky having to sit too long, but could concentrate etc. I think I probably had traits that have been turbo powered by trauma and burnout. I wish I knew how to go back to how I was. The brain fog and lack of motivation now is debilitating

@Mintchocsi can get immersed in a book for hours/days however long it takes to finish it but if it doesn’t hook me in the first chapter, I’m done. Reading literature for learning I have to scan and copy down the important parts so it sinks in, that’s strategic as I find non fiction too boring to get immersed in. And why I managed to study to masters level but I often forget it as soon as the exam is done!

They absolutely do, sadly.

Thanks for all the replies, I've just caught up on them all.

With regards to childhood trauma - I have a good childhood overall. I'm not sure I suffered from trauma in my younger years. My parents separated when I was a year old, argued a lot during that first year of my life and she said I could have suffered trauma from that, but I'm not convinced of that tbh. The only thing I could think that may of caused any childhood trauma was my older sister, she's 10 years older than me and was really mean to me and occasionally violent. When I was 14, I went through a traumatic experience, which I know has affected me through life, although I was already experiencing issues by this point. Other than my sisters behaviour towards me, any traumatic issues I encountered were past secondary school age.

The reason I'd like to know isn't for the label, as I said previously, it would be better if I didn't have it, for obvious reasons. I was happy with the outcome initially, it just plays on my mind a bit as every single thing I see/hear about adhd is me. And I'm just a bit of a weird/awkward person, there's other nuances, not just the big, obvious symptoms, which just fit me.

With regards to the reading, yes, it's like I become hyper focused with it. If I can't get into something, I can't follow it. But when I get into a book, I won't put it down until it's finished.

Some stuff just seemed so disregarded, like the fact that I've started about 10-15 courses in my life that I've been unable to finish, all wildly different from each other. They've all involved meltdowns infront of college teachers, late assignments, and stress until the point I quit. I managed to finish 2 of them, one was due to my tutor allowing me to finish at home with a lesser qualification, and one where my assignments were all done last minute in the 24 hours before they were due, I'd become so hyper focused that I actually felt like wired, my brain felt like it was operating on a different level. I get a similar feeling when I get really obsessed about something, an idea that I NEED to do now, and I talk about it non stop and feel a buzz as it's all I can think about for a while.

Yes, one of the things I did keep saying is "I've got better at that over the last few years". I said I've become much more aware that other people don't do the things I do, so yes, I've effectively "trained" myself, or mask. But that didn't seem to be taken on board.

I wouldn't like medication anyway, I would prefer to learn strategies on how to manage things better, but as I've not been given any diagnosis, I'm left to figure it out on my own now and nothing has changed.

I'm not really sure, I think being in the middle of something which was already really altering my perception and state of mind, it was hard to see past any of that at the time. If you've ever been in a relationship like that, you'll understand how much is confuses you and, as another poster mentioned, leaves you with brain fog.

I also wasn't necessarily looking for a diagnosis, so I didn't want to mislead and be given one if it wasn't right. So I intentionally answered based on what I was like at the time. Since coming out of the relationship and getting back to my nornal self and being able to see how much it affected me, I regret this now as I'm not sure I did give an accurate representation of what I'm like.

I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and read for hours, I always had a reading level that was a few years above my age so that’s not true.

Like you I didn’t have much to go on from my childhood, I don’t speak to my mother so getting information was difficult. I was under a child psychologist as a teenager which might have helped with my diagnosis.

Women are notoriously overlooked when diagnosing ADHD and autism because we mask it better and adapt to fit into our surroundings. I believe that they definitely could have gotten it wrong, there’s no medical tests such as bloods or X-rays for it so it’s not difficult for people to get misdiagnosed either way.

From what I understand you won’t get diagnosed unless traits were present in childhood. My adult DD is going about to start the process and I am sure I’ll be expected to give an account of her childhood issues.

It isn’t a judgmental take. It’s a reasonable opinion , which is different from your opinion. I hold it and many, many other people do.
ADHD diagnosis is an exploding industry which many people are profiting from, some quite unreasonably.

I think to get a successful diagnosis you need to be clued up which buttons to push, what to say and what not say.
I know someone who does ADHD diagnoses and she does 4 a day, including writing them up.
It’s not like she’s listening that hard, just looking out for key things.
A good source of income for someone I don’t think particularly perceptive/ intelligent / educated. She jumped on the bandwagon early.

This is it though, I didn't want to just 'say the right things' to ensure a diagnosis. I wanted it to be right, and I overthought each question too much and tbh it confused me trying to work out 'how I feel' in such and such moment. I didn't make any notes beforehand, which I probably should have done, and some answers I gave I knew weren't right as I answered out of embarrassment, such as questions to do with driving. E.g. when I have music on, I don't watch my speed very well etc, but I didn't want her to think I was a reckless driver because overall, I'm not. I was in court not too long ago over reckless driving on the motorway and I'm so ashamed of it, so I try very carefully now not to speed etc.

If you had a ADHD if you would already know and be fairly certain of that. What are your indicators for
ADHD?

Hello,
can i ask how you managed to get your assessment? What process did you go through? Thaks

I know exactly what you mean and what you’re looking for.
You do need to pay privately I think, though can’t be sure. I believe the cost is around £1500.
A family member had a diagnosis in London within the last couple of years. As I recall, this guy came at ADHD from neuro psychiatry and was involved long before it became fashionable.
Someone like that would give you full attention and share their expertise.
If you’re interested, I could find out his details and pm you?

'As for the assessments, have you had the Assessment A and B? '

I'm confused - there is no assessment A or B for ADHD?

OP, if you're not that pressured to have a diagnosis, I'm not sure why you seek more opinions? Ultimately, diagnostic criteria are not clearcut and lots of other things can look like ADHD, but it sounds like the service looked at all your experiences before deciding?

There is a pre-assessment before they pass you on for the assessment, which i did have.

It's just that I relate so much to everything adhd, and while I do accept that symptoms can overlap, there's just some things I'm not sure about like the reading thing that's been highlighted. I won't be seeking a second opinion, I'll just carry on now, just plays on my mind sometimes.