ADHD referral

[Clumsymum19]

Just looking for advice for anyone who has been through the ADHD referral process or who knows how the system works.

My son has been referred and the referral accepted and was told we would wait 12 months we are still in the waiting process. My friends child was then recommended by school (different school same hospital) to be referred and was referred a couple of months later.

My friend has recently received a letter to book an appointment but I still am waiting. Can anyone explain to me why this may happen as I'm extremely anxious that this may mean my sons case is not going to be taken seriously.

I know each case is different and could simply be the fact that the hospital are working alphabetically but I can't help but panic when i just want the best for my son and to establish him a strong support system.

It could be referrals are triaged. Or different areas have different allocations. Or if there is more than one pathway, DC are on different pathways. However, I would contact the service to check the referral has been received and hasn’t been lost/overlooked.

It's been triaged and we're waiting for initial appointment. We're still on the list I've already checked. We're both referred to the same hospital but are from different areas within the district if that makes sense.

As you say it could be that the processes are just different dependant on case. I just assumed with being referred a few months prior my son would have been seen first.

I think I'm just overly anxious as my DS needed an operation as a child and we were so fobbed off and had to really fight for over a year so I think I'm just worrying I'm going to face the same battle.

If the referrals have been triaged, your friend’s DS may have a more urgent need for assessment.