Background: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) frequently persists into adulthood. There are practice guidelines that outline the requirements for the assessment and treatment of adults. Nevertheless, guidelines specifying what constitutes a good quality diagnostic assessment and report and the competencies required to be a specialist assessor are lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: ADHD in adults is a common and debilitating neurodevelopmental mental health condition. Yet, diagnosis, clinical management and monitoring are frequently constrained by scarce resources, low capacity in specialist services and limited awareness or training in both primary and secondary care. As a result, many people with ADHD experience serious barriers in accessing the care they need.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite evidence-based national guidelines for ADHD in the United Kingdom (UK), ADHD is under-identified, under-diagnosed, and under-treated. Many seeking help for ADHD face prejudice, long waiting lists, and patchy or unavailable services, and are turning to service-user support groups and/or private healthcare for help. A group of UK experts representing clinical and healthcare providers from public and private healthcare, academia, ADHD patient groups, educational, and occupational specialists, met to discuss shortfalls in ADHD service provision in the UK.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: ADHD is neurodevelopmental disorder which persists into adulthood. Presently, therapeutic approaches are mainly pharmacological and psychological whilst the role, scope and approaches of occupational therapists have not been adequately described.
Results: In this consensus statement we propose that by assessing specific aspects of a person's occupation, occupational therapists can deploy their unique skills in providing specialist interventions for adults with ADHD.
BMC Psychiatry
August 2020
Background: There is evidence to suggest that the broad discrepancy in the ratio of males to females with diagnosed ADHD is due, at least in part, to lack of recognition and/or referral bias in females. Studies suggest that females with ADHD present with differences in their profile of symptoms, comorbidity and associated functioning compared with males. This consensus aims to provide a better understanding of females with ADHD in order to improve recognition and referral.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Autism is difficult to identify in adults due to lack of validated self-report questionnaires. We compared the effectiveness of the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) and the Ritvo autism-Asperger's diagnostic scale-revised (RAADS-R) questionnaires in adult mental health services in two English counties.
Methods: A subsample of adults who completed the AQ and RAADS-R were invited to take part in an autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS Module 4) assessment with probability of selection weighted by scores on the questionnaires.
Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in the new-born baby is a rare though well-acknowledged clinical condition. We present two cases of complete utero-vaginal prolapse in new-born babies. Both infants were otherwise healthy and neurologically normal in their clinical presentation and evaluation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF