Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have gotten increasing recognition in recent years. That awareness has been increasing sharply since ADHD was first recognized in adults in 2008. Advocates and people living with adult ADHD in Northern Ireland have been sounding the alarm. They are deeply troubled by the lack of commissioned services on which they can call. Jennifer Cousins, who had been diagnosed with ADHD privately, said that it was “unfair.” She reminded us that there are countless adults who are floundering in the absence of the support they require.
Eight years prior to adults being recognised, ADHD received formal recognition in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines in most regions of the UK National Health Service (NHS). That includes England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This lack of recognition has created a cumulative backlog of needs that have gone unmet. We’re glad that the Department of Health (DoH) is listening. They have commissioned strategies to develop a specific adult ADHD service “needs assessment.” The assessment, which is still in its early stages, is scheduled for completion in June 2025.
As you can see, the need for ADHD support has been huge. Local charity ADD-NI has spoken of having to ration places on their programs due to the level of weekly referrals coming through. Since January, the organization has taken in 165 referrals, with almost half of those under the adult category. This increasing volume of requests underscores the urgent need for quality services and resources.
Jennifer Cousins expressed her exasperations about these long-term gaps in support services. She noted that “it’s no surprise that there are adults out there that have struggled with this condition their whole lives and there is no funding or commissioned service to diagnose.” By sharing her personal experience with ADHD, she brings to life how the condition affects behavior, academic performance, and daily functioning. Cousins described her struggle with impulsivity and restlessness, stating, “Having to focus super hard to try and get things done was really quite challenging, quite debilitating actually.”
Ms. Salters, an advocate for ADHD awareness, emphasized the prevalence of the condition in Northern Ireland, stating, “About 4% of our adult population have ADHD, that’s about 70,000 people across Northern Ireland and there’s possibly a very high number of people who are undiagnosed.” This staggering statistic highlights the immense need for services that can help reach the 5% of people living with ADHD.
Cousins delivered a heartfelt and candid account of her own journey to self-discovery, and the positive effects that medication had on her life. She shared how medication improved her concentration and supported her in regulating her energy. This rehab was her opportunity to turn all that creative energy in a more productive direction. “Where you get the right support, the proper strategies in place, people with ADHD start to see that they can do things that they weren’t capable of doing before,” Ms. Salters added, reinforcing the importance of tailored services for individuals diagnosed with ADHD.
Cousins credited progress made in awareness and recognition. He said there was a real risk of the return of chronic systemic under provision of services seen in Northern Ireland. She highlighted the confusion and disorder of her own journey. I have 17 tabs open, three of them frozen and I don’t even know where the music is coming from! So that’s a bit like me. This analogy does a great job of illustrating the wild, distracting, disorganized mental space that so many ADHDers contend with every day.
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