My advice on what steps to follow if you suspect you might have ADHD (AKA – Do I have ADHD?)
- Read through these steps and make sure you know what is involved
- Learn as much as you can about what ADHD is, how it presents in adults, etc
- Understand how ADHD is diagnosed
- Do an online test or two (or three!) for ADHD. I have found this one from Heywise to be fairly good
- Start listing your symptoms as you learn. Use this document to help organise it: write a list of your symptoms.
- When you have a fairly thorough list (ie. you aren’t thinking of too many more symptoms now – this took a few months for me), reconsider the ADHD symptoms DSM-5 Criteria and try and make an objective judgement about yourself
- Try playing “devil’s advocate” with your points. Ask yourself questions like:
- Could this be explained by something else?
- Do others have similar qualities, in the same intensities? As often as you?
- Has this type of feeling/thought/idea/action been present in one form or another during your childhood too?
- Does this point correlate to one or more ADHD symptom categories? (Inattention, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity, and Emotional Dysregulation (not an official category))
- Review the list and make sure it makes sense for someone else to read it (I have to do this for all of my writing! 🙂 )
- (If you don’t have them already) Start looking for good, or at least competent GP and mental health clinicians, preferably ones who understand ADHD
- Take this list to someone close to you who would notice these things, and has known you for a long time. Make sure they also understand what ADHD is (get them to watch this video on How to (Explain) ADHD. Try and get their feedback on whether they think you have ADHD / match the criteria.
- Take the list to your GP and/or your Psychologist / mental health support person to see if they agree also.
- Note: with regard to the two points above, be prepared for comments like “oh, I’m like that too”, “I get that way as well”, “you are just sensitive”, and possibly even outright disagreement. If you have considered your symptoms as objectively as possible and think they are valid (#3), try and have a discussion with them about why you think you are this way. If nothing else, this will help you clarify your points, and help you identify evidence/notes where you need to possibly be clearer.
- Pick a preferred assessment service or psychiatrist, and check on the fees and wait times (a few links on this page)
- Your GP can then make a referral to the assessment service you have chosen. You will most likely have to pay the fee up front – at the time of, or soon after you make the booking.
- The service should explain the process (either on their website, or when you book and pay)
- Wait, and wait, and wait…..
- Have the document you prepared ready/printed, to make it easier when you get the assessment
- You will also probably need a medical checkup and ECG to make sure you are healthy and able to tolerate the medication without complications.
- Get assessed 🙂 This will probably involve 1-2 appointments.
In my assessment which was done via video calls, the first one was with a Registrar. They will ask a number of questions, basically following the DSM-5 Criteria. They will also ask a few questions to try and rule out other mental health issues. After this (possibly weeks), you will speak with the psychiatrist who has reviewed the information you provided to the registrar. They may ask some more questions, before making a diagnosis. If you are diagnosed with ADHD, they will explain a bit about the medication options and which one(s) you should start with. They will probably also discuss some lifestyle changes that work well for people with ADHD. - (Its STILL not over yet!)
Go back to your GP, and they can discuss the medication with you. Often, you will get a “temporary medical authority” as part of your assessment, for the GP to be able to prescribe you the medication. Sometimes, there can be issues around using this temporary authority (at the discretion of your GP). Once approved, you can get your first ADHD medication! - You will then start on a low dose of medication, and slowly increase the dose(s) over a period of multiple months, until you find a suitable level where you are noticing a reduction in ADHD symptoms, but not getting unwanted side effects.
- If this medication turns out to be insufficient or otherwise not suitable, the GP (possibly in consultation with the psychiatrist) can look at other medication options. This might be an ongoing process, as you may also have to deal with medication tolerance, which can be common with ADHD. (link coming soonish)
- Then, you will most likely have to work on managing your ADHD: modify behaviors, learn new strategies for various situations, and much more! But, it should be much more do-able, manageable, and hopefully even some more motivation to actually do these things. And to top it off, you may even start noticing improvements! 😀