Growing waitlist for adults trying to get ADHD diagnosis
An ADHD diagnosis as an adult can help to explain decades of struggling and, with successful treatment, give people the opportunity to achieve what they never thought possible. But the process of getting a diagnosis is both long and expensive.
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00:00 Aaron Onessi had reached breaking point when he finally made the decision to seek professional help.
00:07 That's what changed my life, is the hope from that that there's another way and I can do better, I can feel better, I can think better, I can be happier than I ever thought I could be.
00:19 Underlying his depression and anxiety was ADHD. Undiagnosed in his younger years, the condition had impacted every aspect of his life.
00:29 I started on the 20mg of the medication that I was on and cried the first day that I started it because I remember thinking is this how normal people feel?
00:44 But managing his condition has become increasingly difficult with wait lists up to 12 months long.
00:51 There's just not enough adult psychiatrists, either public or private, who actually have an understanding of really how to help people with ADHD at the moment.
01:04 I've had GPs who have referred to me for 25 years and I'm having to say to them that I can't take on their new patients and that's a really terrible situation to be in.
01:14 The cost of accessing a private psychiatrist also makes treatment out of reach for many.
01:19 That is why we actually need services in the public sector.
01:23 Doctors studying to become psychiatrists are still not specifically trained in how to treat adults with ADHD, but some progress is being made.
01:33 Their profession is developing a plan to address the workforce gap and on a national level a Senate inquiry is currently underway looking into what can be done to better support people with the condition.
01:45 In the meantime, those seeking help will continue to wait.
01:48 There's a lot of people that are just sliding under the, they're just being forgotten about.
01:54 The Senate inquiry into ADHD treatment is expected to be completed next month.
01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]