ADHD is under diagnosed and under treated, experts say

Experts say ADHD is not over-diagnosed in the UK; instead, many people wait too long for assessment, support and treatment. A paper in the British Journal of Psychiatry challenges the growing claim that “everyone has ADHD,” arguing the bigger issue is unmet need.


Professor Tamsin Ford said: “Overdiagnosis is not a problem, but misdiagnosis may be as people are driven into the private sector by long waits; and sadly, missed diagnoses remain common.”


Research suggests ADHD affects about 5% of children and 3% of adults, yet NHS diagnosis rates remain lower, indicating many people go undiagnosed. Long waiting lists—sometimes years—are pushing some people toward private assessments.


Professor Samuele Cortese added: “While misdiagnosis and inappropriate diagnosis do occur, the available evidence indicates that under-diagnosis and under-treatment remain the predominant challenges.”


Experts warn untreated ADHD is linked to serious risks, including academic failure, substance misuse and suicide, and call for better funding, workforce training and improved access to diagnosis and care.

More here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/no-evidence-adhd-is-being-over-diagnosed-say-experts

Reference
Cortese, S et al. ADHD (over) diagnosis: fiction, fashion, and failure. British Journal of Psychiatry; 6 March 2026; DOI: 10.1192/bjp.2026.10546

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Dear Lovely Cat Lady,

And now I’m crying too! I really didn’t mean to have that effect on you. I’m sorry!

It does bring it all back. I am eternally grateful to the nurses, like you, who did show me such compassion and care. Kindness comes in all forms. Some nights it was that cup of tea and a slice of egg custard saved from the patients dinner trolley, (which would probably get you sacked now!), that got me through. The canteen would have been shut for hours, just “food” in a vending machine to eat on your own. That someone had thought of you made all the difference.

I think what was so hard for me was having to hide all this emotion and pain whilst physically exhausted, sleep deprived and masking my undiagnosed Autism and ADHD. To try to appear strong and confident when I felt the the polar opposite inside. To never be able to show any frailty or vulnerability for fear of ridicule and the "non reference" when applying for the next job. To not understand why I was finding this all so difficult was beyond my understanding. I couldn’t even talk to my GP about how I felt for fear of this being on my notes, that’s if I even had one…… I’d probably forgotten to register with one anyway with all the moving from hospital to hospital.

With the 20/20 vision of hindsight, that came with my AuDHD diagnosis, I see that I was the wrong person, with the wrong neurotype, in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was not a chance that this would work.

Thank you for sharing the photo of your friend and mentor. Her smile is amazing…..(and I know all about smiles as I also qualified as a Dentist before studying Medicine!) Amazing woman to smile like that through all her pain. I liked your work from the retreat and, with your permission, I’m going to adopt your moto of "learn to be the person I’m meant to be". I’m not 100% certain who I’m meant to be yet, but I’m headed in the right direction.

I’m so pleased to have met you. You’ve given me permission to talk about some of the things that have troubled me most from my past life…and to vicariously thank all the nurses from my past who did so much to support me when things we really bad. Again I’m sorry if I caused you to be upset. When you next see your friend, you have my permission to tell my story and tell her just how much both of you will have helped others in the same position as me. On behalf of them all, "Thank you for caring and looking out for us".

I never know where these threads are going to go, but they are always interesting and take unexpected turns. Thank you for you contributions. It has helped me more than you can know.

Best wishes,

Wade
 
Camel said:
Dear Lovely Cat Lady,

And now I’m crying too! I really didn’t mean to have that effect on you. I’m sorry!

It does bring it all back. I am eternally grateful to the nurses, like you, who did show me such compassion and care. Kindness comes in all forms. Some nights it was that cup of tea and a slice of egg custard saved from the patients dinner trolley, (which would probably get you sacked now!), that got me through. The canteen would have been shut for hours, just “food” in a vending machine to eat on your own. That someone had thought of you made all the difference.

I think what was so hard for me was having to hide all this emotion and pain whilst physically exhausted, sleep deprived and masking my undiagnosed Autism and ADHD. To try to appear strong and confident when I felt the the polar opposite inside. To never be able to show any frailty or vulnerability for fear of ridicule and the "non reference" when applying for the next job. To not understand why I was finding this all so difficult was beyond my understanding. I couldn’t even talk to my GP about how I felt for fear of this being on my notes, that’s if I even had one…… I’d probably forgotten to register with one anyway with all the moving from hospital to hospital.

With the 20/20 vision of hindsight, that came with my AuDHD diagnosis, I see that I was the wrong person, with the wrong neurotype, in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was not a chance that this would work.

Thank you for sharing the photo of your friend and mentor. Her smile is amazing…..(and I know all about smiles as I also qualified as a Dentist before studying Medicine!) Amazing woman to smile like that through all her pain. I liked your work from the retreat and, with your permission, I’m going to adopt your moto of "learn to be the person I’m meant to be". I’m not 100% certain who I’m meant to be yet, but I’m headed in the right direction.

I’m so pleased to have met you. You’ve given me permission to talk about some of the things that have troubled me most from my past life…and to vicariously thank all the nurses from my past who did so much to support me when things we really bad. Again I’m sorry if I caused you to be upset. When you next see your friend, you have my permission to tell my story and tell her just how much both of you will have helped others in the same position as me. On behalf of them all, "Thank you for caring and looking out for us".

I never know where these threads are going to go, but they are always interesting and take unexpected turns. Thank you for you contributions. It has helped me more than you can know.

Best wishes,

Wade
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It was a good not bad cry, and believe me I've cried more than enough this last year. I had a really bad shock reaction to my diagnosis which was only in January, and I just couldn't stop crying, and couldn't attend a work meeting and had to write the minutes off a Teams recording instead. I totally crashed out for 2 weekends and my GP said I just had to go with it. It's felt like discovering your adopted, in that everything I thought I knew about myself is now being questioned, but in my case I realise my dad was autistic and I'm genetically very much him, I just didn't know what autism was.
Although it's a very long time ago, I do have fond memories of my nurse training. It was tough, but I loved the hospital cameradere and the feeling of making a difference. I was a good nurse, but it wasn't good for me as I got so burnt out. I think regardless of neurodiversity working on the frontline in the NHS is tough and the culture can be very toxic.
Please do adopt my motto. It's something we should all aspire to, especially those of us who have been hiding our real selves and trying to be something else.

I'm not sure when if ever I'll see my former nursing sister again. I used to live in Reading but moved down here 10 years ago and am not currently able to socialise normally or do much travel. I saw her nearly 2 years ago when a friend offered me to house sit. She offered again last year, but I didn't want to catch up with old friends and just wanted to hide at home. I will remember her fondly as someone who mentored and believed in me and taught me so much. She genuinely cared about her staff, as does my current boss, and that's a rare thing. My favourite governor is an oncologist and I'm sure a very lovely one, but I don't get the idea there is the same sort of environment now. They work shifts and the teams are fragmented. I'm sure we were encouraged to look after the doctors because they worked such crazy hours and we worked as a team and with the good ones there was a mutual respect.
I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. Unless you have experienced hospital culture in the 80s and 90s it's hard to understand how crazy it all was. Certainly as a nurse you weren't supposed to let deaths etc get to you and you were encouraged to internalise any emotional distress and our a professional face on. It took me years to recover from that and even in my most recent assessment there was mention of appearing calm despite experiencing intense anxiety.