Liberal MP Simon Behrakis tells of “treading water” before ADHD treatment

He weighed up whether to go public on his ADHD diagnosis but Simon Behrakis says he wants to end the “stigma and shame” associated with the condition.

2024 Tasmanian State Election Simon Behrakis Liberal member for Clark. Picture: Caroline Tan

As a child with ADHD Simon Behrakis was often told he would “never get anywhere in life” unless he applied himself more at school.

He was bright but he was disruptive in class.

“The conventional wisdom was that kids grow out of it but it wasn’t as well understood then as it is now,” Mr Behrakis said.

“There were all those horrible segments on current affairs shows that were titled, ‘ADHD medications, turning your kids into zombies’ and all that, so I stopped the treatment past high school”.

But after suffering burnout after the local government elections in 2022 he decided to seek help for his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

“Being stuck in that burnt out sort of place gave me a bit of cause for reflection and looking online I ended up deep diving on a few things.

“As an adult, you learn how to mask it, and you learn how to live around it.

“I was a victim of bad organisation or procrastinated. I often hadn’t done something until the last minute, which is pretty common.

“It was just ‘that’s how Simon is’.”

Simon Behrakis Liberal member for Clark and Minister Eric Abetz. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Mr Behrakis went to his GP who he said was “cynical about the whole concept”.

“He suggested that I might, in fact, actually have just an iron deficiency.”

He was referred to a psychologist who was unable to diagnose or prescribe medication.

“It took 10 months to see a psychiatrist and would have been longer but for a cancellation.

“You get stuck in limbo, and you spend your whole time thinking how long is it going to be until I stop treading water and can actually sort of get my life together.

“In many regards I’m the best case scenario as far as timing and how straightforward it was for me, and I found it arduous.”

Mr Behrakis is now taking medication and says it has been “life changing”.

He says people with ADHD are good at dealing with crisis situations, can knock off an assignment in two days and get good marks but struggle with day to day matters.

“It’s the everyday keeping on top of your diary, responding to messages, paying an $80 bill when you’ve got the money in your bank account, but you’ll do it later and you end up forgetting to do it and then it becomes an issue.

“It’s all those little things. It’s easier now on a day to day level to keep on top of those things without difficulty.”

Mr Behrakis successfully moved in the House of Assembly last week for an inquiry into ADHD and report on the availability and efficiency of assessment, treatment and support services for Tasmanians with ADHD.

He commended new Lambie MP Andrew Jenner for his “courage and openness” in talking about his ADHD.

“This isn’t about me, it is about telling other people’s stories and getting rid of the shame and stigma of ADHD,” Mr Behrakis said.

“The more we talk about it the better.”

Cost a deterrent for many Tasmanians

The cost of seeing a psychiatrist for an ADHD diagnosis was prohibitive for many Tasmanians, a doctor’s group says.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Tasmanian chair Dr Toby Gardner has welcomed the establishment of a parliamentary committee to review ADHD services in Tasmania which will report and make recommendations by March 31 next year.

He said the number of stimulant prescriptions had gone up “massively” or up to four-fold in the past five years in Tasmania.

“We’re seeing a lot more females present in early to middle age who are probably better at masking the symptoms, whereas boys are usually picked up as hyperactive in school,” Dr Gardner said.

“I’ve got a number of patients with stimulants on my books, and most of them, I’d say, probably two thirds of them, had their lives changed dramatically for the better.”

But he said the referral pathway was difficult and appointment costs for a diagnosis were around $900 to $1200 which was “out of touch for most people”.

“I think the biggest thing is having access to referral pathways for those people who can’t afford the cost of private psychiatrists. What options do they have because we know that the productivity issues with untreated ADHD are huge,” Dr Gardner said.

“If we can improve productivity of our workforce by getting these people treated properly, then that surely is going to have a net beneficial economic effect to the state.”

Once a diagnosis was made, he said a psychiatrist would write to a GP who then became a co-prescriber of medication but a person with ADHD had to be reassessed by a psychiatrist at certain intervals adding to the cost for patients.

Labor and the Greens both welcomed the ADHD inquiry initiated by Liberal MP Simon Behrakis.

Originally published as Liberal MP Simon Behrakis tells of “treading water” before ADHD treatment