Wondering what to do in the meantime?
If you are one of the 19000 to 90000 people in the UK ( YES the data is that patchy!) waiting for a clinical ADHD diagnosis you could be looking at anything between 6 months to 5 years.
The longest on record so far is a woman in Wales who has been waiting 8.5 years.
As an ADHD counsellor I speak to LOTS of people about their diagnosis journey and I am often shocked to hear the huge differences in wait times.
This week I spoke to a young woman who is stuck in limbo having waited three years already with not a whiff of an appointment in sight.
FROM WONDERING TO WAITING
The waiting period between starting to wonder if you have ADHD, speaking to your GP and getting your first appointment with a diagnosing psychiatrist is full of opportunities for delays...
Some I have heard of are... GP's flat out laughing at requests, not knowing how to or refusing to complete the forms and then of course the most frustrating one... losing the form and needing to start the process all over again.
During this time important questions remain unanswered, support delayed and symptoms continue to disrupt lives.
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There are several steps you can take to start your journey on your own terms, informed about the ADHD basics and with some personal insights that will help you arrive at your diagnosis appointment prepared and ready.
My top three things you can do while you are waiting
TRY A SELF SCREENING TOOL
The World Health Organisation recommends using the ADULT ADHD Self- Report Scale (ASRS -v1.1) to assess your ADHD needs.
An easy version can be found on ADHD.UK and a printable version on my website
If you haven't gone through the questions already this is a super useful tool to help you arrive at your appointment when the time comes, with a better understanding of your unique ADHD and what to mention in your diagnostic conversation.
You can either complete it on your own or with someone that you trust and knows you well or with an ADHD specialist counsellor.
A counsellor will help you to think about and include all aspects of your life affected by symptoms when answering the questions to get the most complete picture of your symptoms.
I offer a 50 min single session Screening appointment for potential ADHDers which gives us plenty of time to talk about the test, your hopes, your fears, your symptoms and the screening results. You can book yours at www.rebeccaloancounselling.com
READ OR LISTEN TO SOME ADHD BOOKS
WARNING! There are thousands out there so here are a few pointers.
To start off it can be helpful to think about what aspect of ADHD you may like to explore.
Would you like to know more about coping with ADHD symptoms at work or in your relationships or perhaps you would like to understand the ADHD basics - the who, what, why of it all !
OR
Pop me an email and I'll send you my free Essential ADHD reading list which only contains books personally recommended by clients and myself.
SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT
There are some wonderful online communities out there covering every aspect of neurodiversity.
Some facebook groups have humour at the heart of them, some are full of executive functioning tips and others aimed at people coming to ADHD in mid life.
In short there is an ADHD SUPPORT GROUP for everyone.
You are only a few swipes away from finding your own tribe with tons of tips, tools, support and chat that will bring lots of little aha moments while you wait for your big AHA.
So don't delay - maximise your waiting time today.