Experts in Suffolk say people have to put their lives on hold while waiting for an ADHD diagnosis
The Suffolk and North East Essex ICB says the average waiting time for an adult ADHD assessment at the service has risen to 91 weeks
Experts in Suffolk tell us delays in ADHD and autism assessments are forcing some of their clients to put their lives on hold.
It comes after the Children's Commissioner, earlier this week, said that 3% of all children in England are seeking support from health services for a suspected neurodevelopmental condition.
Waiting times in Suffolk
The Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board responded to a Freedom of Information Request by ADHD UK which revealed the following results.
They have 2309 adults waiting for an adult ADHD assessment.
The average waiting time for an adult ADHD assessment at their facilities is 91 weeks (20 months), with the longest being 112 weeks (28 months or just over 2 years).
There were 42 children waiting for a child ADHD assessment as of 1/04/2023
The current expected waiting time for a child's ADHD Assessment is 31 weeks (just over 7 months) with the longest waiting period of 95 weeks which is nearly 22 months.
ADHD Experts and the impact this is having
We spoke to Doctor Annie Clements, the CEO and founder of a not-for-profit social enterprise called Autism and ADHD.
She told us she has clients that have spoken to her about the toll these waiting times are having on their mental health.
Quoting one of her patients she told us they "don't feel valued as a person" and that their "diagnosis is not important."
"She said I get really anxious days where I feel like I've got impostor syndrome and I start to second guess myself. Have I really got it? (ADHD) Or am I just making it up?"
This client feels her "disability is not important enough for everyone to be worrying about and trying to get that (waiting) list down".
Doctor Clements explained that many people who are neurodiverse experience a lot of negativity growing up:
"The children who have an ADHD identity can have up to 20,000 more negative things said about who they are to them than another child would have.
"The damage that does to you as a person, as a child...That gets bigger and bigger and bigger, so how people end up valuing themselves and who they are can be really challenging."
She believes we've seen a shift in society that minimises the condition because people don't fully understand it:
"Those of us that live with it every day know that it's a really big deal. It impacts every area of our life and our relationships, our work, our sleep, so many different things.
"I think as research goes forward in the same way that it has with autism, we'll learn more and more about what the impacts are, now we have more technology, more research opportunities to be able to explore it more."