Adult ADHD
Adult waiting times for ADHD assessment with Mid and South Essex Adult ADHD Service is approximately 8 months for an Initial Contact appointment; then, if indicated, a further 10-12 months for a full Diagnostic Assessment; then a further 8-10 months for Medical Review to initiate medication (from referral to medication initiation currently up to 2 years).
Patients based in England under the NHS now have a legal right to choose their mental health care provider. This important right means that, for instance, should a patient decide the waiting time for an ADHD assessment in their area is too long, then they can choose alternative providers.
Right to Choose ADHD Providers include:
Psychiatry UK www.psychiatry-uk.com Tel: 0330 124 1980 (wait time approx. 6 months as of March 2023)
ADHD-360 www.adhd-360.com Tel: 01507 534181(wait time approx. 1 year as of March 2023)
Information about the Right to Choose referral process, referral documents and waiting times are available on each organisation’s website. The referral process normally involves a patient.
Support groups online:
add.org – The Attention Deficit Disorder Association.
addconsults.com – Terry Matlen’s monthly newsletter.
additudemag.com/ – ADDitude is the trusted resource for families and adults living with ADHD and related conditions and the professionals who work with them.
addwarehouse.com – ADD Warehouse.
Children ASD/ADHD
Children ASD/ADHD is assessed by Children Integrated Children’s Therapy Team.
(NELF CSPA)
Current waiting times for assessment:
It can take up to 18 months for your child’s assessment to be completed, but this may look different for each individual child depending on their clinical need. NELF are commissioned differently for ADHD children over 11, for example, and children with a more complex presentation may need additional stages to their assessment compared to a straightforward case.
While child is waiting to be assessed, parents/carer can find support on understanding of autism on fallowing websites:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/
What will an ASD assessment look like for my child?
An ‘assessment’ for ASD is not a one-off test as some medical investigation may be. It is a gathering of information over time and can involve several professionals. There are essentially two ways of gathering information for assessment: observation and interviewing to build up a holistic picture of the child or young person.
Observation
A health professional in our team will observe your child either in clinic or in another setting to make notes on areas of social communication, social interaction, play and behaviour. This might involve a standardised assessment such as an ‘ADOS’ or ‘BOSA’ or a play-based assessment.
Interviewing
Parents and carers will be interviewed about the child’s developmental history, strengths, challenges, and interests. Depending on a child’s age they may also be asked about these. There may already be health professionals working with your child, for example a Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist or Specialist Health visitor. Notes and reports that they have made over time will also be considered in the assessment.
The conclusion of each assessment may be given to you on the day or during a later appointment, but we always try to ensure the most appropriate person feed this back to you and your child.
What will an ADHD assessment look like for my child?
An ‘assessment’ for ADHD is not a one-off test as some medical investigation may be. It is a gathering of information over time and can involve several professionals. There are several ways of gathering information for assessment: observation , structured questionnaire tools and interviewing. The objective is to build up a holistic picture of the child or young person.
Observation
A health professional in our team will observe your child either in clinic or in another setting to make notes on areas of social communication, social interaction, play and behaviour. This can include structured assessments such as the ‘Qb’. This may even be during a meeting with yourself with the child ‘in the background’.
Interviewing
Parents and carers will be interviewed about the child’s developmental history, strengths, challenges, and interests. Depending on a child’s age they may also be asked about these. There may already be health professionals working with your child, for example a Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist or Specialist Health visitor. Notes and reports that they have made over time will also be considered in the assessment.
Questionnaire tools
It is likely that you will be asked to fill in a questionnaire called a ‘Conners’ and a version will also be requested from your child’s school. This will be emailed to you separately when the clinician is ready to consider this information.
The conclusion of each assessment may be given to you on the day or during a later appointment, but we always try to ensure the most appropriate person feed this back to you and your child.
Please take a look at following website for further links to advice and services which may be able to offer you support.