How to get an Assessment for adult ADHD, Autism or Dyspraxia in Ireland
This page is about Getting assessed for Autism/ADHD/Dyspraxia as an adult in Ireland. It is for information purposes. I do not carry out assessments
[For Clinic listing scroll all the way to the bottom]
I will focus primarily on ADHD and Autism for the moment.
So what do you need to do?
In the first instance it is worth attending your GP to ask for a referral to your local public mental health team, who theoretically can assess you and offer treatment. However in practice, you will not be prioritised solely on basis on possible ADHD/Autism, unless there is significant co-occurring mental health difficulties. However, I have seen a couple of people who were privately assessed be referred back to adult mental health services, and picked up for medication management with some success. So again, this is worth doing. But acknowledge that it could be between a 6 month to infinity wait.
For query autism/ADHD you need to be assessed by a clinical psychologist, multi-disciplinary team (MDT) or a psychiatrist.
There are some clinics or clinicians who will do a comprehensive assessment over several visits, may involve a psychologist and another professional like a speech therapist or an occupational therapist.
What should I do before my appointment?
For your own sake, it is worth doing a little prep work ahead of this. The neurodivergent crew can lose their words/get muddled/forget what they want to say at the best of times, so its good to get clear in your own mind why you are getting assessed, and how/why you think you meet the criteria for this(although attending unprepared could be seen as symptomatic in itself ). Like what are the functional difficulties you are having, what impacts your day to day life. While many adults will not have "documentation" from when they were at school, it is actually worth bringing along a school report or something if you have one, they are often illuminating! Frequent comments along the lines of "X won't stay in their seat" or "X daydreams through class" can speak to history of these difficulties. You don’t have to write a thesis on yourself, but just some examples of how you think you meet the criteria e.g. “I am often told I interrupt others” or “I was bullied for being ‘weird’ at school, and have always felt I don’t fit in”
What will the assessment involve?
Depending, some assessments involve standardised tests used on children, modified for use with adults, such as ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule), or Conners adult ADHD rating scales. When contacting any clinic, you can ask them what will happen at your first meeting, and what assessments they will use. Regardless of which assessments used, you will be asked lots of questions about your childhood, and how you manage today. They may send you a screening tool (questionnaire) ahead of your first meeting, or they may give you one to take away after your meeting. It is ok to ask questions, or ask for clarification if you don’t understand any point or question.
How do I know which clinic to go to?
Some are listed below. I think it may be of benefit to look for a “neurodiversity affirmative” service. This means seeing autism/adhd/dyspraxia/dyslexia etc as “different wiring”, a different way of viewing the world, not a “wrong” way, or something that needs to be cured. This viewpoint acknowledges that we have difficulties, as most people do, but neurodivergent people also have a lot of strengths to offer our communities. See https://www.adultautism.ie/about for example.
If you want to pick a psychologist yourself, check out @PsychSocIreland Psychological Society were you can search their site by discipline, services, area of practice etc. Fairly straightforward. Of course, as has been noted many times, not everyone who says they work with Neurodivergent people “expert in ADHD” is an expert, so definitely enquire about this ahead of time.
Do I need to bring a family member?
This would be to confirm that your differences were there since birth. You should clarify this with the service/clinic ahead of time. I would say generally clinicians prefer this, (and it would be best practice), but in reality, oftentimes adults may not have any family that can comment on their childhood, or your family may not be supportive of your journey for answers. This is not essential, so please don’t let it put you off going for assessment
ADHD and medication
If you suspect you have ADHD or have been assessed by a psychologist as having ADHD, and you want to try medication, you must go to a psychiatrist for this. A GP may continue a prescription initiated by a psychiatrist, but they cannot make a new prescription for stimulant medication, where it has not been prescribed before.
I have contacted the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland @IrishPsychiatry for a listing or contact details of private psychiatrists who work with adults who are possibly ADHD, and was re-directed to the national clinical ADHD programme, which is only functioning in 2.5 HSE areas (out of 11). Apparently there is no directory or listing for private (or public!) psychiatrists or their specialisations. It does beg the question, how does anyone, who by definition, has executive functioning difficulties, ever get a diagnosis publicly or privately in this country? There are a couple of psychiatrist listed below, but some of my clients have had to go to the UK to be seen in a timely manner. Covid strangely makes this easier, as it is more common now to do remote appointments.
A psychiatrist may diagnose you in the one visit, depending who it is. This is a relatively straightforward process: just asking questions about your history and behaviour. Again it is worth having a think about this before you go along I am attaching a list of practitioners who I have personally been in contact with recently, who have confirmed that they are currently completing assessments in person or remotely. This list changes fairly regularly, as I get new information, and I will update this thread as needed.
If you have not already had your appointment, it is worth thinking ahead of time about whether you want to try medication or not, and discussing any concerns re: medication with the psychiatrist when you meet them. There's lots of research out there on the efficacy, side effects, long term outcomes of medication, mostly on children (i.e. started when kids, followed through to their late 20s/30's). Laurence Greenhill is one of the experts on this, he actually spoke here a couple of years ago, and he really knows his stuff: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18573923.
This is also a nice article on the European situation for adult treatment, although 6 years old: https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral....471-244X-10-67 That article states that stimulant medication is effective for about 70% of people with ADHD.
Most people say that stimulant medication is very effective in increasing focus, and decreasing distractability. Therefore doing what they want it to do. Some people express side effects such as reduced appetite (and when prescribed to children and adults they will monitor their weight), weight loss, nausea, sleep difficulties, and one of the reasons some people dislike it is a feeling of "not myself", which could be described as being less emotional, feeling "robotic", or even devoid of emotion. There is lots about this online, obviously. Cost of medication really varies, I've seen from €65 a month to over €100, so definitely shop around.
Cost of Assessment
Anywhere from €650 to €1800 in Ireland, depends on the service, obviously clarify this before attending. Where known, I have included them below.
Wait time
Between 3 – 24 months. I have tried not to list clinics that have over a year wait, as this is very dispiriting, but I do include St John of God ADHD clinic, as I believe this is the best adult psychiatric ADHD service in the country, albeit private, and with a 3 year waiting list.
Relief and Grief
I think for people with a recent diagnosis of Autism/ADHD, considering seeing a counselor, with experience/knowledge of the difficulties associated with ADHD/Autism would be beneficial. There is a high incidence of other difficulties correlated with neurodivergence.
Practical Support
You could also consider seeing a life coach or OT on a regular basis, who may focus on the more practical side of things then therapy, like helping you set and achieve goals to reach a particular milestone in your life. Some people are interested in ADHD coaches which is more of a thing in America, though there are some coaches listed on the ADHD Ireland webpage https://adhdireland.ie/general-information/adhd-irelands-list-of-clinicians/#adults
Disclosure
Disclosing to your workplace can be a really good idea depending on the setting. Sometimes employers can be really supportive, and really open to modifying your role etc, and sometimes it is hard for them to understand the condition. Their attitude can depend on how much "this will affect the business", i.e. if it is quite easy to move you to a slightly different role, that's handy. Having a good idea of how things could be improved for you is helpful when thinking about having this discussion i.e. if i could change x and y, I will be able to work mostly independently, that kind of thing.
● Seek a referral to HSE Community Adult Mental Health Team through GP [Public – wait list indefinite] [GP referral needed]
Psychological Services for Assessment of ADHD and/or Autism [most do not require GP referral, but check individually]
● Adult Autism https://www.adultautism.ie/about REMOTE €850 Total (3-4 appointments) info@adultautism.ie, [4-8 week wait list] [Autism Only]
● Arduna Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre (01) 833 2733 https://www.arduna.ie/assessments/ Initial €200, then €1200 [3-6 months waiting list] [Autism only]
● Dr Clare Brady, 111 Upper Trees Road, Mount Merrion, Co. Dublin Tel: 087 2422145 or email drclarebrady@yahoo.co.uk
● Paul Horgan: Clinical Psychologist. Paulhorganpsychologicalservices@outlook.com Virtual € 950 [ADHD Only] [new as of 01.07.2023, 1 month wait list]
● Honan and Associates https://www.honanandassociates.com/procedure-for-adult-diagnostic-assessment/ ~€1400 [2-3 months waiting list]
● Jennifer Creegan: Consultant Clinical Psychologist. JenniferCreegan@ClinicalPsyDundalk.onmicrosoft.com Dundalk, LOUTH
Adult Psychiatry – Assessment & medication can be prescribed
● https://adhddoc.ie/what-to-expect/ [€1000, includes ECG] Dun Laoghaire, Dublin. Combined GP and Psychiatrist approach. Waiting list: about 3 months. 087 7166 957, info@adhddoc.ie
● Dr Séamus Ó Ceallaigh https://psychmedireland.com/details/ €800, €150 for follow up. Waiting list: 15 months
● Dr Alan Murtagh - https://dralanmurtagh.com/contact-us/ €650 for assessment. [New private service as of May 2021] [GP referral needed] Waiting list: 28 months.
● Dr Michael Craig. http://www.craigclinic.com/neurodevelopmental-disorders [£525 for initial, £270 for follow up] UK based. Accepts virtual meetings from Ireland* [NO GP referral needed] contact pa@craigclinic.com Waiting list: 12 months
● Dr Sourabh Singh https://berkeleypsychiatrists.co.uk/doctors/drsourabhsingh [£695/€820 includes medication follow up] UK based. Accepts virtual meetings from Ireland* [NO GP referral needed] contact Waiting list: 8 weeks [as at 01.09.2022]
● Saint John of God Hospital Out Patient Services, Stillorgan, Co Dublin Tel: 01 2771400 [GP referral needed] – waiting list up to 3 years
*No GP referral needed BUT you should check with your own GP ahead of time if they will continue a prescription from a UK based psychiatrist.
Adult Dyspraxia Assessment
Only three clinics that I am aware of. This cannot be done remotely, please contact the clinics for more information.
· Sarah Butler, Occupational Therapist. Kildare based https://otsbutler.com/ €500 for adults
· Dr Dorothy Armstrong, Occupational Therapist. Kildare based http://www.achieveot.ie/ €600 for 18-21 year old, €500 for 22+
· Dr Liath Sheehan, Occupational Therapist, Cork based https://liathsheehan.com €620
Community resources
● https://www.thrivingautistic.org/ Individual therapy: International network of neurodivergent psychologists, therapists, coaches and educators
● https://adhdireland.ie/for-adults/resources-for-adults/ ADHD Peer Support Groups
● https://asiam.ie/asiam-support-programmes/adult-support-wellbeing/ Autistic peer support and dedicated interest groups