ADHD assessment demand rises in Geelong amid access issues

A Clifton Springs mum living with ADHD has called for better access to assessments as demand explodes.

Bec Provis, founder of AmAble Community Services, has ADHD. Picture: Mark Wilson

Geelong health services are seeing more people seeking ADHD assessments, as social media fuels awareness of the chronic condition.

Chris Mackey and Associates practice manager Sue Mackey said since the start of the pandemic, the Geelong psychology service had experienced a significant increase in inquiries for ADHD assessment and support.

“This has particularly increased in adults,” Ms Mackey said.

“Females were less commonly diagnosed as children as their presentation is often less overt but many are recognising now that this could be having an impact for them.

“Over the past few years social media platforms such as TikTok have increased the element of self-diagnosis and we find people are seeking the specific diagnosis more readily these days.

“With the lockdown and remote schooling parents were more exposed to their children’s issues of concentration and attention.

“They also noticed that their own concentration was impacted.”

Ms Mackey noted the issue of diagnosing ADHD was complex and had many contentious elements.

Many other psychiatric conditions have concentration and attention issues as a core symptom, she said.

“There is a high risk of over-diagnosis if comorbid conditions are not thoroughly assessed,” Ms Mackey said.

Nationally, as at June 30, there were more than 5200 National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants with ADHD listed as either a primary or secondary disability.

The majority of these participants (77 per cent) are aged 0 to 18.

In the Barwon region, as of June 30, there were 93 participants with ADHD listed as either a primary or secondary disability – a 58 per cent increase on the same time last year.

Awareness of ADHD, which stands for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, has grown in recent years.

Symptoms can include being easily distracted, memory issues, fidgeting and interrupting conversations.

Clifton Springs mum-of-five Bec Provis was diagnosed with ADHD and autism about two-and-a-half years ago.

Ms Provis saw the qualities her kids were asked about in their own assessments in herself, prompting her to get assessed.

Her children have ADHD and autism.

She described ADHD as being like “Jekyll and Hyde” for her.

“My mind is going 100 miles an hour … but at the same time I get distracted by everything,” she said.

“I don’t sleep very well.”

Ms Provis, who is the founder and chief executive of a Geelong disability support organisation called AmAble Community Services, said assessment waitlists and cost barriers left people “defeated” and at their wit’s end.

“There needs to be more access to assessments that are affordable,” she said.

“It helped me understand who I am and it made my whole life make sense.”

Local GP and Western Victoria Primary Health Network clinical spokeswoman Anne Stephenson said recently, there was much more awareness in the community about ADHD. “For a long time, this condition has probably been under-diagnosed,” Dr Stephenson said.

Many people were now understanding why they had struggled in many aspects of their lives and were seeking a diagnosis, she said.

Originally published as ADHD assessment demand rises in Geelong amid access issues