Until recently there was no referral pathway for adults (over 18) in Cornwall with possible ADHD. There is now however a service available on the NHS. Given the popularity of this new service it's been swamped with referrals for those who were until recently unable to have an assessment and waiting times are currently VERY long, potentially 4 years at present.

Referrals to the ADHD clinic require the patient to have both a completed ASRS V1.1 questionnaire, and an accompanying patient account of symptoms. This can be several paragraphs or 1 page detailing your symptoms, what you or others have noticed, and what you struggle with in day-to-day life.

There is a similar waiting time for Autism/ASD assessments too of several years. 

You can request a GP appointment, with this information ready, and the GP can discuss referral to the NHS clinic with you.

Some patients prefer to use an online provider rather than the NHS ADHD or ASD service. Several private companies who hold NHS contracts elsewhere in England are able to see patients for ADHD and ASD assessments on the NHS using 'Right to Choose'. Waiting times are shorter generally.

Several examples include Psychiatry UK and ADHD 360. See their respective websites for more details.

As of 15^th May 2024, the Neurodevelopmental Assessment Pathway has changed in response to long waiting lists and an acknowledgement that most support in children and young people is needs-led, rather than diagnosis dependant.

The new approach involves Neurodiverse Profiling, which takes about 45-90 minutes to complete by a trained professional in partnership with parents/carers, and young person (if appropriate). This is no longer completed by a GP.

To arrange Neurodiverse profiling, families should:

• Speak to their school or healthcare professional trained in the profiling tool.
• Alternatively, they can email cft.ndcornwall@nhs.net to identify someone who can help if the child/young person is not currently under a healthcare or school professional trained in the profiling tool.

Parents/carers, and young people (if appropriate), can access the Parent Carers Cornwall website: Neurodiversity Hub, which has lots of information (including videos) to empower them as well as their child or young person to learn about and understand their needs, and develop strategies to help them.

Parent information sessions: Free information session for parents/cares on the Neurodiversity Profiling Tool (90 minutes) click here to book a place