Leanne Marskell

And in particular, if there is no funding in place for GPs to make these assessments and provide support,

What might happen is that they might have such huge demand for ADHD assessments and be able to charge separately for that.

So I know of one clinic where that's kind of the plan they're planning to, they're a building clinic and they are planning to have

a kind of different avenue for ADHD assessments that make the price cheaper than it would be for a psychiatrist.

And the issue is that what might happen is a whole new market gets created and also Australia loses many of its GPUs and primary care

to basically diagnosing and treating ADHD, which would obviously be a real crisis.

So I think it really depends on how this is overseen and monitored and implemented.

But if done right, I think it could really be game-changing for so many people.

I think it is a really challenging question because we are living in a time where so much has been done online now.

So I think the realistic answer is yes,

making sure that individuals understand and are educated about what a diagnosis means, what help can be available, because the diagnosis itself, if someone is feeling that they have ADHD, brilliant.

now what do we do about that it's not necessarily like oh just take a tablet which was is generally a huge part of what is missing from the current training so as a coach I've worked with many people who have been put on medication from having very short consultations with telehealth providers but again that doesn't necessarily mean much in and of itself like

the time itself it's more about I think how well that person knows you and how thorough the assessment is ideally in person is better but also I know that for a lot of neurodivergent people myself included online works a lot better for me to not feel so perceived like underneath this

screen right now I'm like fiddling and moving around so I can feel a lot more like relaxed whereas in person might feel a lot more pressured and again that's another angle of this that maybe the governments are not really understanding because of course they're not the patients but even to go and get an assessment can be such a nerve-wracking terrifying experience in and of itself and so recognizing that it's really important to make sure that people are able to make

informed decisions and they're able to choose what feels right for them because I do think that just making sure that people understand what they need to look for and also before they even go down this route what it involves and why do they want the assessment like what are they hoping to change because a lot of the people that I have worked with would have gone and got an assessment after they're just curious they're just like saw information about it someone said they think they might have it they're like oh

Maybe I should go and check it out.

And then this is your medication.

And when I'm coaching them, I'm saying, okay, what is the problem that led you to go and get that?

And they said, oh, I don't have any problem, but now I'm taking the medication and I can't sleep.

So now there is a problem.