If you are told your ADHD assessment would benefit from a questionnaire completed by your mum, your older brother or someone else who knew you growing up, you are not being doubted. A collateral history (an account from someone who has known you a long time) is a standard, recommended part of good adult ADHDLeer Más

Nothing has actually happened and that is the confusing part.It is the last week of August. Your routine has quietly fallen apart over the summer and you have not managed to rebuild it. There is a low hum of something that is not quite anxiety and not quite guilt, and it gets louder every timeLeer Más

The week before term has its own particular weight. The summer has been long, the routine has quietly dissolved, and somewhere in the back of your mind is the knowledge that in seven days everyone has to be dressed, fed and out of the door by half past eight.If your child has ADHD, or youLeer Más

There is a particular shift that happens in the last week of August. The days are the same, the routine has not changed yet, but something in the house has tightened.Your child is snappier, they have stopped sleeping properly, they have started saying their stomach hurts… and it does hurt, and there is nothing medicallyLeer Más

No. There is no brain scan, blood test or any other physical test that can diagnose ADHD, in the UK or anywhere else. ADHD is diagnosed clinically: through a detailed, structured interview with a qualified specialist, assessing your symptoms, your history back to childhood, and their impact on your life. If that answer is disappointing (aLeer Más

You cannot fail an ADHD assessment, and you do not need to revise for it. But a little preparation genuinely raises the quality of the conversation, richer examples and better history mean your Consultant Psychiatrist sees the fullest picture of your life, not just the version that comes to mind under mild appointment nerves. IfLeer Más

There is no single answer to “how long is the wait for an adult ADHD assessment?”, because there is no single waiting list. Waits for NHS adult ADHD assessments are managed locally, and they currently range from months in some areas to several years in others, with some services closed to new adult referrals altogether.Leer Más

An ADHD diagnosis does not automatically mean you have to tell the DVLA. The rule, set out on GOV.UK, is that you must tell the DVLA if your ADHD (or your ADHD medication) affects your ability to drive safely. If your driving is unaffected, you do not need to report anything. That single sentence answersLeer Más

Titration is the process of starting ADHD medication at a low dose and adjusting it gradually, under specialist supervision, until you reach the dose that gives the most benefit with the fewest side effects. It is the bridge between being diagnosed and being settled on treatment, and because everyone responds differently to ADHD medication, itLeer Más

The DIVA-5 (the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults) is a structured clinical interview that walks through each of the eighteen ADHD symptom criteria in turn, in your adult life and in your childhood, with concrete examples for every one. It was developed by the DIVA Foundation, is aligned with the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, andLeer Más

A shared care agreement is an arrangement between a specialist and your NHS GP that allows your GP to prescribe your ADHD medication on the NHS, at standard prescription cost, after a specialist has diagnosed you and settled you on a stable dose. It is the answer to one of the most common questions weLeer Más

There is a particular kind of confusion that arrives in July.You spent all of autumn and winter functioning at a level that felt, if not exactly easy, at least manageable. Deadlines were met. The house wasn't a disaster. You showed up. And then summer arrived, with its long, formless days and its absence of urgency,Leer Más