Re:Youngest Kids in Class at Higher Risk of ADHD Diagnosis
by jwdunne on Monday March 14, 2016 @04:35AM
(#11281670)
My (UK) diagnosis was an endurance test. It took 2 years of consultations, appointments and referrals to get a diagnosis. Of course, this is the NHS so everything non-life threatening takes longer but if there was no impact day to day there would be no motivation for the many hoops and consultations. Due to the nature of the beast, many who do suffer could drop out of such a marathon because, for example, their referral form had fallen underneath a filing cabinet due to a chaotic office and thus forgotten about by both sides (happened to me - called up because after 3 months after prodding by my mrs. She was going insane).
Overdiagnosis is almost a cliché. This might happen in some places. There are just as many that the diagnosis is painful and thorough.
It's frustrating to think about the lack of consistency in ADHD diagnosises and treatment. In /r/ADHD (ADHD subreddit), some people get diagnosed after a few minutes of talking with a psych. Others live in countries where ADHD isn't even considered a thing. Many went through the same rounds of tests that I did. Even after diagnosis, I had the same problem as several /r/ADHD members in that the first psychiatrist I went to looked at my psychologist's diagnosis and was like "Meh, you got decent grades in high school anyway. You're just stressed/tired/depressed/etc." Wasted my time with four months on four different depression medications before I got a second opinion.