Stereotypes about ADHD continue to delay diagnosis of sufferers and negatively impact their wellbeing despite new reforms to speed up identifying cases, Central News has been told.

Since March, GP’s statewide have been undertaking specialised training to diagnose ADHD as part of the Minns Labor government’s second phase of reforms, aimed at substantially cutting costs, reducing wait times, prioritising access in regional areas and improving access to care through primary management.

But, while experts have welcomed the move, patients argue a lack of awareness of the condition continues to influence perceptions. 

“Throughout my schooling journey and life itself I have experienced the effects of stereotypes,” said ADHD sufferer Elise Parsonage. “I have been heavily judged by teachers, friends, and classmates.

“I have been criticised and called lazy, easily distracted, unmotivated, hyper, even told that I am faking it, particularly in school settings.”

Although showing symptoms from a young age, the 19-year-old university student wasn’t diagnosed until her early teens, and said she had always been overlooked, making her reluctant to seek help. 

“My symptoms being dismissed definitely made me take a step back when asking for help because I felt minimised and that no one believed me,” she said. 

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neuro-developmental condition that causes inattention and impulsivity, affecting a person’s ability to learn and to adapt to unfamiliar environments. While, traditionally seen as a male-dominated condition, in recent years diagnosis of men and women in Australia has been roughly equal.

The changes introduced in NSW build on earlier reforms allowing GP’s to manage repeating ADHD prescriptions, easing pressure on healthcare services and keeping patient care on track.

More adults are now coming forward that have not been diagnosed at a younger age.

NSW and ACT Royal Australian College of General Practitioners chair Rebekah Hoffman described the reforms as a “life changing” opportunity that could create positive change. 

“Evidence indicates up to 10 per cent of children, and 6 per cent of adults, live with ADHD,” she said. 

“The reforms announced by the NSW government will make a huge difference to thousands of patients in our state.”

Dr Andre Brody, a GP at Botany Medical Centre who specialises in mental health, believes the reforms have contributed to a shift in diagnosis trends.

“More adults are now coming forward that have not been diagnosed at a younger age,” he said.

But despite growing awareness of ADHD, the condition remains widely misunderstood, often stereotyped as hyperactivity, poor behaviour and a lack of discipline – masking its complexity. Young women in particular don’t fit the stereotypical hyperactive profile.

“There is still a frequent notion that ADHD isn’t that serious,” said Parsonage, who is studying a Bachelor of Paramedicine at University of Tasmania.

“It’s really difficult because a lot of times I feel like I have to prove that I am actually struggling or that I work differently to others.”

She added that being repeatedly dismissed gradually shaped how she viewed herself and that much more needed to be done to improve ADHD diagnosis. 

“After hearing it repetitively, you start to believe it,” she said. “It requires holistic effort not just implementation of reforms.”

Main image generic of woman studying by Aaron Osborne/Flickr.