Latest news with #ADHD
BBC News
an hour ago
- Health
- BBC News
Kimberley Nixon feels 'lighter' after ADHD and autism diagnosis
A Welsh actress says a "huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders" after being diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Kimberley Nixon, star of Channel 4's Fresh Meat, developed perinatal obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), after giving birth to her son during the 2020 said her worries about her baby's well-being escalated into intense anxiety, with symptoms lasting around two and a half years. As she began to recover, other lifelong patterns started to make sense, prompting her to seek a diagnosis. Following a series of in-depth assessments and standard diagnostic tests, she was formally diagnosed with autism and ADHD on an interview with BBC Radio Wales, Nixon told presenter Behnaz Akhgar: "We all know what the NHS is like when it comes to waiting lists, so it's taken a while. "The assessments are incredibly thorough - they dig into every little nook and cranny of your life and your past."The actress, from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, known for her roles in Wild Child and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, said she now feels "lighter" and is "kinder" to herself, which she described as "really lovely."Reflecting on the diagnosis, she said: "It's that square peg in a round hole feeling. "I've realised it's not that my brain is wrong - it's just different. "I don't process or interpret things the same way others do. "That always felt like a problem. "But now, it just feels like a difference." Nixon also spoke about her experience of being diagnosed with perinatal OCD, which is when you experience OCD during pregnancy or in the first year after giving is a mental health condition characterised by intrusive thoughts and compulsive years of IVF, she gave birth to her son during the 2020 pandemic, which she described as the "big catalyst" for her struggles."I went through a really tough time postpartum," she said. "Eventually, I was diagnosed with perinatal OCD - which I didn't even know was a thing. "Once you start looking into it, you realise it's actually quite common."Nixon said the condition did not present in the typical ways people associate with OCD. "I'm not a neat freak, I don't tick the usual boxes - but with perinatal OCD, I absolutely did," she said. "It involved really distressing intrusive thoughts, repetitive thinking, and punishing compulsions - just to relieve the anxiety."Last year, she told BBC Radio Wales' Books That Made Me with Lucy Owen: "I was just convinced that I wasn't doing things right. "I wasn't feeding him right. What temperature is he supposed to be?"Every time he cried I was just sort of shaking - I just got really hyper vigilant and terrified."Since learning more about the condition, Nixon has made it a priority to speak openly about it, saying it's "not as widely recognised as postnatal depression". In Thursday's interview, Nixon also spoke about her latest role in the ITV series Shardlake. She plays the character Joan in the four-part drama, which is based on CJ Sansom's historical mystery first season adapts the book Dissolution. The story follows lawyer Matthew Shardlake as he investigates a murder at a remote monastery during the reign of Henry a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, said the series was filmed in Budapest and it felt like "a little Hungarian Welsh college reunion", as fellow cast members Arthur Hughes and Anthony Boyle also trained at the same institution.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
GPs to get power to diagnose ADHD in SA
National GPs in South Australia will soon have the power to diagnose and medicate ADHD.
The Age
an hour ago
- Health
- The Age
GPs to get power to diagnose ADHD in SA
National GPs in South Australia will soon have the power to diagnose and medicate ADHD.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- Health
- ABC News
South Australian government to allow GPs to diagnose ADHD
Some general practitioners in South Australia will from next year be able to diagnose patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in a move the state government says will cut wait times and costs for those seeking a diagnosis. Currently, adults in South Australia seeking an ADHD diagnosis must be assessed by a psychiatrist, while children must see a paediatrician. The state government argues the existing regulations have made it "extremely difficult" to get an ADHD diagnosis due to long wait times and high costs to see a specialist. Rule changes announced by the government on Friday will allow specially trained GPs to diagnose the disorder. It will also allow GPs to prescribe ADHD medication without having to provide evidence to SA Health of a diagnosis from a psychiatrist or paediatrician. The reforms will come into effect in 2026. Health Minister Chris Picton said some patients have spent more than $2,000 for a diagnosis. "That's a huge expense for South Australians and it means that people are missing out on important healthcare that can make a difference for them," he said. Mr Picton also argued the reforms would free up "significant capacity" for psychiatrists and paediatricians to undertake other mental health work. "We know that there's significant need in the community for a whole range of other afflictions people have," he said. The reforms follow a similar move by New South Wales earlier this year. The Western Australian government has also committed to the reform. Specialist training for GPs who want to be involved in ADHD diagnoses will be made available from next year. This is on top of online training modules that are already available through the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). RACGP chair Siân Goodson said not all GPs will take up the additional training. But she added that many GPs already have experience dealing with ADHD patients. "GPs are often co-managing these patients already, so we often prescribe once we've got the diagnosis is confirmed," she said. "So, we're already getting experience in managing medication and managing these people." Dr Goodson, who is also a GP in Adelaide's northern suburbs, said patients are regularly reporting ADHD symptoms to their doctor. She said early ADHD diagnosis was "really important" for children. "We see people waiting a long time for that diagnosis falling behind at school and the outcomes are less good," she said. "But also for adults, sometimes they've struggled for a long time, they've lost their job or they're not functioning at home. Mother Vaia Allen said she spent around $3,000 on getting an ADHD diagnosis for her 12-year-old daughter Pippa. The cost, Ms Allen said, did not include ongoing medication and regular GP appointments. She also needed to travel from Victoria to South Australia. Ms Allen said her daughter has been on ADHD medication for around four months and it has greatly helped her learning in school. "When we got Pip on ADHD medication, it was so helpful … in her classroom for her teacher, the students around her, and obviously for herself," she said. "It's really obvious to me that the education outcomes are so important in terms of their focus and changing their life trajectory. "She can sit there, listen and understand now." Deborah McLean, president of the South Australian Psychologists Association (SAPA), welcomed the state government's rule changes. She also expressed confidence that the training offered to GPs will be sufficient to correctly diagnose ADHD. But she cautioned that some ADHD patients will still need access to "holistic diagnosis assessment and then treatment" for concurrent conditions like depression and anxiety. "It means that we may only be treating part of the problem. "I think for a lot of people, though, this is a really positive step forward and a way to be able to access the essential services they need." The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) SA Branch also welcomed the rule changes. But the college cautioned that the government "must prioritise patient safety and quality outcomes through greater training and support for doctors treating ADHD". RANZCP SA chair Patrick Clarke, a North Adelaide psychiatrist, said he currently treats around 150 ADHD patients. "That's all I can manage, and I can't take on any more," Dr Clarke said in a statement. "So, we're glad to see the SA government doing more to expand access to ADHD care in the state for people who are missing out on help. "Giving trainee specialists more ADHD exposure will greatly increase the pool of doctors with appropriate exposure to see these patients."
BBC News
6 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
'My son is being denied a specialist school place', Coalville mum says
The mother of a boy with autism and ADHD has said her family has been "failed and ignored" after he was denied a specialist school seven-year-old son Austin has been unable to attend a full day at school in about two had secured an education, health and care plan (EHCP), which states that mainstream schools would be unable to meet his needs, while living in Wiltshire and hoped to secure a specialist school place for after losing her job, Lauren decided to relocate to Coalville in Leicestershire to be closer to family in December 2024 and was told the EHCP would move with them. She said she spent months "begging for an update" as Austin became increasingly anxious and eventually received an email from Leicestershire County Council informing her he had been given a place at a mainstream said she later learnt the authority had taken the EHCP to a panel, which it told the BBC was made up of qualified professionals, without informing her. An EHCP is for children and young people up to the age of 25 who need more support than is available through the usual special educational needs 28, said the plan she had previously signed had been "edited without her consent or knowledge".She has appealed against the decision, claiming the school would not be able to meet his needs, and is preparing for tribunal the meantime, she is keeping Austin at home and trying to educate him but admits he is "so far behind"."He's not officially home-schooled, but I'm doing everything I can," she added."I thought him having the EHCP would fix the problems. It didn't."Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) regulations state that a new local authority receiving a transferred EHCP - in this case Leicestershire County Council - can bring forward the arrangements for the review of the can also conduct a new education, health and care needs assessment, regardless of when the previous assessment took place at the previous says she feels "hugely and continuously" failed by the system and the situation has taken its toll on her family."It's difficult. It's a lot," she said."He's not my only child, so I think anyone with more than one kid, you're pulled in multiple directions all the time."He is bored. He misses having friends. His social aspect is difficult."Lauren said Austin could become "very, very agitated" and described him as "a coiled spring a lot of the time"."He fidgets a lot. He twitches a lot. He speaks very, very quickly," she said, adding that Austin was aware he was not at the same level education-wise as other children his age."He is very frightened of the reality of going back because he knows he's not at their level." EHCP delays The Department for Education said 21,960 children in the East Midlands were reported as missing education at any point during the 2023-24 academic year due to not being registered at a school or receiving suitable Martin, chief executive officer of charity Menphys, said many children with SEND were out of education because their needs were not being added: "These are some of the most vulnerable children in our society, and they're being denied access to something as basic as school."The EHCP process which is meant to take 20 weeks legally, can take over a year."Many parents are forced to go to tribunal to get the rights of their children met."What happens whilst these all of these waits are happening, is the child deteriorates. The child's mental health deteriorates."Schools don't have enough funding to be inclusive and what ends up happening the child is either removed from education or, due to the severity of the unmet needs, cannot go."Looking ahead, Lauren said she wanted her son to have a fair added: "I want him to have a school that will advocate for him, support him, and give him the opportunities he deserves."A county council spokesperson said: "If the panel believes a child's needs can be met in a mainstream setting, they will be offered a place at a suitable school."Parents can also request an urgent annual review if they have concerns about the placement."The government said in the spending review it would be setting out long-awaited plans to reform the SEND system in England this autumn in a government white Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "We have already taken the first steps to identify and meet children's needs earlier in mainstream schools, including through more early intervention across speech and language, ADHD and autism to prevent needs from escalating and £740m to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools."
