When Dawn Farmer turned up for her long-awaited ADHD assessment, she was expecting answers.
Instead – after an 18 month-wait for the NHS assessment – she was told she’ll need a further appointment next year.
The 39-year-old, who co-presents a podcast on ADHD, has been left in despair – having pinned her hopes on this appointment finally opening up the doors to some support for her.
Ms Farmer reached out for help as she is struggling to cope with her home life and university.
But, despite being armed with school reports “indicative of the problems” ADHD can cause and a report from the educational psychologist at RGU, she was told to go back in four months
She said: “I’m absolutely devastated, it just about broke me, I’m struggling at the best of times just now.
“I’d pinned a lot of hope on getting answers so I can get access to the to the help that I need.
“I’m struggling with university and my home life, I’m not sure I’ve got another four months left in me to wait.”
‘None of the evidence was taken into account’
Ms Farmer also claimed the assessment had been conducted in an unprofessional manner.
She said: “They didn’t have a consultant room for me when I turned up, the psychiatrist was 15 minutes late and still had his outdoor jacket on for the whole two hours.
“He was forgetting questions he’d asked me and being like ‘oh I should have asked you this, I forgot.’
“I had all my school reports that are very indicative of the problems ADHD caused, I also had a report I got from the educational psychologist at RGU.
“But it felt like none of that evidence was really being taken into account.”
Ms Farmer is now considering going private, though she is concerned about the financial implications.
“I feel like I’ve been backed into a corner and my only option is to seek a private diagnosis,” she said.
“The only issue is I don’t know the costs involved and as a student I don’t have much funds available.
“It’ll just be (through) support of friends and family and even potentially setting up a Crowdfunder.”
‘I feel sorry for that little girl’
Alongside her university work, she also co-presents the ‘ADHD As Females’ podcast with her friend Laura Mears-Reynolds which has proven a source of comfort.
They have listeners from 138 countries, and have heard many stories from others struggling to get a diagnosis.
She said: “The support I’ve had has been incredible, I had people messaging me before my appointment and since then.
“I think if I was battling this alone it would be a lot harder. That sense of community I get from it is definitely helping push me through.
“Having read back my school reports, I can see how I wasn’t getting the support that I needed.
“I feel sorry for that little girl who has struggled her whole life and that makes me want to fight for all the little girls who are out there struggling.”
An NHS Grampian spokeswoman said: “While we cannot discuss individual patients and their treatment, it is clear Ms Farmer has concerns about her care and we would encourage her to get in touch with us directly to discuss these further.”
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