ADHD in Children
Children with suspected ADHD should be referred by school Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCo) where possible rather than via a GP. They will be asked to complete the school questionnaire for assessment of ADHD.
This is preferable as
1.) Information from school is required as part of the assessment and is required before the assessment can begin.
2.) Schools need to be aware of the concerns and may be able to resolve some of issues with classroom intervention without the need for referral.
If a referral is received from a GP for a child who is in a school setting, without an explanation as to why a referral from school is not possible, the referral will be returned with the referrer directed to the school referral pathway.
Children under 5
Although children can present from an early age with ADHD symptoms, local community paediatric services are not able to prescribe medication for ADHD in children under the age of 5 and restrict assessments until children are over this age.
However, families who have children with ADHD symptoms that are aged under 5 years can receive support through locally delivered behavioural interventions focussing on the management of attention difficulties and challenging behaviour, such as the Incredible Years course. These can be accessed without a formal diagnosis of ADHD
Parenting programmes, advice and telephone support
Happymaps also has useful resources for parents and professionals for children at different ages:
Children over the age of 17 years and 6 months will be re-directed to adult ADHD Services as their assessment will not be completed before they turn 18 years old.