So, grim reading from the part 2 of the NHS ADHD Task Force report on ADHD last week. Much like the first part of the report, published earlier this year, it outlines severe and systematic failings in almost every aspect of ADHD care for kids and adults.
There will no doubt be a lot of attention paid to the figure of £17bn in economic, social and healthcare costs lost each year due to under recognition and under-treatment of ADHD. And yep, it’s a big number. Scary big. Big is it big enough to get things moving in the right direction? The summary of the report ends with something of a challenge: That £17bn figure? All that lost money can be avoided because ‘when appropriately supported, individuals with ADHD can thrive.’
THRIVE.
It does feel like awareness of ADHD as an adult condition is improving. That overall understanding of the affect it has on – not just the individual – but their entire lived experience, (including every state run service they come in to contact with from education, health or police and justice) is becoming clearer. Which is why the report is so damning about the failure of the whole system to support ADHD.
There’s a lot of positive recommendations in the report, starting with early intervention, engagement with parents of ND children, proper integration of Mental Health Support Teams into the school system, focussing on strengths as well as challenges in youth intervention and going further to combat stigma & misinformation. But it remains to be seen what response will come from those in a position to change things. What happens if only some of the recommendations are accepted? What happens if there are further delays?
I have had 4 years on this planet since I discovered my own ADHD diagnosis and it is quite true to say that it has changed my life immeasurably. I’m not in the ‘ADHD is a superpower’ camp, but nor am I happy to repeatedly parrot how difficult life with ADHD can be. Like a true 6 Music listening centrist-dad, I’m somewhere in the middle. Yes, ADHD poses challenges and great advantages. But those challenges can feel like constant battles when you live in an environment that has little appetite for change. That £17bn number should be the thing that gets people thinking – but to those with the power to change things, I’d say this: Please, please read the entire report. Read about the lived experience of what we deal with every single day. Shift away from the stats and look at the human cost of doing nothing.
There’s a big challenge ahead and I’m glad that it’s starting to get some attention. Now all we have to do is tackle it with passion, creativity, short busts of enthusiasm and energy, a slightly wonky sense of humour and generous helping of empathy and kindness. Maybe that’s just me – but I’m up for the challenge.