Where to start with ADHD/Dyspraxia diagnosis?

[WesterosGreen]

My DD (8) has clear symptoms of both and is starting to really struggle emotionally, although she heavily masks in school and her teacher and SENCO could not be less interested as DD is not disruptive and is bright, so achieves within range.

Given the lack of school support, where do I start? I can pay for a private diagnosis but are these generally accepted?

I am confident this is the route I need to pursue. I have some professional expertise in this space and DD's teacher and SENCO are known for trying to avoid diagnosis/denying existing diagnosis. Previous teachers have advised me to start a diagnosis path when the time is right.

They're both different diagnosis and will likely be a different referral route. Each area is different so best to go onto your local trust website and check it out.

A private diagnosis should not be discounted if proper NICE guidelines were followed.

@fireflyloo

Thank you. Do you have recommendations for finding and evidence gathering someone qualified to make a diagnosis

Right to choose.
You need to be prepared with who you want to ask for (your trust will have a list of who they are happy to let you use) and one what your talking about when you go to the gp (as they often don’t know you can do this)

@WesterosGreen
I'd start with googling ADHD assessments in your local area, then checking out how the do the assessments. Who diagnoses- paediatrician, psychologist, psychiatrist (all able to do it). Find out the process. It should include in depth neurodevelopment history (should take a minimum of 1.5 hours), school information, parent and school conners rating scales, a medical and possibly a QB test.

In terms of dyspraxia. I would find a paediatric OT to complete an assessment of fine / gross motor skills/ spatial ability etc to find if there is a significant difficulty. OT's cannot diagnose dyspraxia as it's a medical diagnose. You can take the report to a paediatrician for review. The diagnosis itself isn't as important as the outcome of the OT assessment.

You might find a service that offers all of the above assessments in one.

@fireflyloo thanks so much!