There has been a sharp rise in the number of Tasmanian's seeking medical treatment for ADHD, but for many that process has involved long waits and big costs. A parliamentary inquiry is looking into the barriers to diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, after a Liberal MP revealed his own struggles with the system.
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00:00From an early age, Simon Barakis has known he has ADHD.
00:07I was actually diagnosed in grade 8.
00:11I was that kid that, and I'm sure many people with ADHD have heard this before, the bright
00:15kid that would do well if he just applied himself, that didn't get so distracted.
00:20He stopped taking his medication a few years later, but when a recent bout of burnout exacerbated
00:25his ADHD symptoms, he decided to get re-diagnosed and treated.
00:30Went to a GP, the GP was openly cynical about the whole concept of me having ADHD, suggested
00:37to me that I might just have an iron deficiency.
00:39It took almost a year before he sat in front of a psychiatrist, able to prescribe medication.
00:45After talking to people since then, and talking on Facebook groups and with other people in
00:50the community that have gone through this, my experience was almost best case scenario.
00:56Now a Liberal MP in State Parliament, Mr Barakis used his position to push for an inquiry into
01:02ADHD.
01:03It received 60 submissions, including from medical professionals, on the difficulty and
01:09cost of getting support.
01:11Every day for someone with ADHD, when it's not recognised, not supported, not treated,
01:17there's damage happening.
01:18My options basically for a local psychiatrist are really minimal, lots of them are not taking
01:22patients at all, and so then we need to do a telehealth psychiatrist who might be based
01:26anywhere.
01:27Despite a jump in people seeking diagnosis, medical professionals say there's still misunderstanding
01:33and stigma.
01:34I've certainly seen patients that have been misdiagnosed, it's just never been thought
01:38of, even sometimes they've seen a psychiatrist for things and it's just not, it hadn't been
01:42considered as part of the picture.
01:44The Federal Parliament conducted its own inquiry into ADHD, but the government accepted
01:48just one of its 15 recommendations in full.
01:52Mr Barakis is hopeful Tasmania's inquiry will be different.
01:56It's a genuine issue, I think everyone's acknowledged it, it's a genuine issue and there's a real
01:59capacity and a real opportunity to make some real meaningful change here.