07/05/2023
I’m not sure how to feel about this. Obviously I’ve not seen it so can’t comment on the content. However my fear is that this will play into the ‘everyone suddenly has ADHD narrative’ There is already a stigma, and many in the ‘why do you need a label? in my day we just got on with it’ brigade.
It’s true there has been a huge increase in ADHD diagnosis in the last few years myself included, I believe this is down to more awareness on the whole around neurodivergent conditions, particularly in women/girls. I don’t think this is a bad thing.
This episode talks about private diagnosis which is what I got. I couldn’t face the roulette of a GP route and potentially being told I couldn’t have ADHD because I ‘have a job’ ‘have a stable relationship’ ‘am not a criminal’ or ‘am a woman’
Many people think you can ‘buy’ a diagnosis, and not for cheap either. As I said I’ve not seen the episode and I’m interested to see what sort of companies are doing this and for what purpose. You have to pay regardless of the outcome, so what is the benefit?
To get my diagnosis I had to fill out several very lengthy screening forms. I also had to give forms to someone who knows me now and someone who knew me as a child. I had to evidence traits were there before the age of 12, you can’t just say this is how I feel now. I also had to take in school reports. After this I then spent 2.5 hours with a psychiatrist going through many uncomfortable topics as well as doing the clinical assessment, which was tedious, repetitive, and boring, particularly for anyone who struggles to sit for long periods.
I’m also interested as to why someone would want to ‘buy’ a diagnosis of ADHD. Yes there are some benefits and it’s part of who I am but there is also a lot of toxic positivity around having a superpower etc 🤢
For the most part it’s a massive ballache.
This may be a programme to call out the companies that are doing the assessments and just giving out diagnosis’ but I worry this will only fuel the uneducated, and play into the idea that suddenly everyone needs some sort of label. I hope I’m wrong.
Do the thousands of people turning to private clinics for an assessment really have ADHD?
