Adult ADHD diagnosis, how, cost and has it helped?!

[JollyRogerandDiane]

If you had one how did you go about getting it, how much did it cost and most importantly, has it helped?

I've done a little research into getting a diagnosis. I spoke to the secretary of a private psychiatrist who said an initial appointment with him was £350 but she believed a full diagnosis would be £3000 !
There are centres in London which specialise in ADHD in adults (staffed by a team of psychiatrists and psychologists) where a diagnosis costs around £500. I can't understand the difference in fees?!

Any info would be gratefully received, thanks!

Try psychiatry UK or Dr Helen Read

Both way less than that

Thanks I'll look into both.

My DD was seen and assessed at the local MH unit- NHS. She's 23. GP referred her - took about 4 months or so for the appts and final diagnosis.

That's quick @BrigitsBigKnickers ! The waiting list here is two years

My husband got referred by the NHS it was a 12 month wait but then a bit longer due to covid. He has to fill in lots of forms then it's a 2 hour initial assessment this happened over zoom. I spoke to them as well.( he had to answer lots of questions which he found difficult and stressful) He has been given a diagnosis of ADHD but may have some ASD traits so needs to be assessed again in person. We are waiting for this to happen. I dont know if it will help I hope so and it seems like now he is in the system he will be able to acsess help. It certainly explains alot and I can understand a bit more.

Namechangedschoolenquiry yeah I know! I was really shocked how quickly it happened. She was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia when she was just 12 and we always put the concentration issues down to that but she knew it was more. She did well at school and uni but only because she had to put in 10 times more work than her fellow students.

She is doing a masters at the moment and the support she has received from the DSA for her Fibro and ADHD diagnosis is amazing. Having said that, she is a disability specialist so knows what to ask for and how to get it but so much better than SEN support at school as the funding seems so much easier to access.

That's so good to hear @BrigitsBigKnickers !

@JollyRogerandDiane just wanted to say that it's not £3k! It's about an hour and a half (£500-700) at the top end and the really expensive ones aren't any better. Then the meds are about £100 a month and they will want to see you once a month at first so an hour or 30 minutes.

Then that drops down to once every 3 months then every six months. It's also possible to go from private to the nhs so once you have a diagnosis you can ask for an nhs referral and once they can see you then you can swap.