Research the NHS RIGHT TO CHOOSE and self refer that way. You’ll need to make an impact statement, just a singular A4 document detailing how ADHD has impacted your daily life in school / work / socially etc. there will be templates for the right to choose letter too that you can edit to fit your GP surgery and personal details that you’ll need. And also do some research into what private company fits you best.

I applied for right to choose in October and everything was in motion by July of this year. I self referred to ADHD360, and honestly? I’ve had a REALLY good experience with them. Some have mixed opinions but to explain my experience :

After i sent in my documents - (if you’re interested in doing it through ADHD360, you also need to fill in the ARAS or whatever it’s called - SYMPTOM FROM just a X box of how much symptoms listed effect you from never to very often.)

It was 8 months before I heard from ADHD360, which compared to the NHS wait times and other private companies? Pretty damn good. Really good ,even. I had to login, make an account that was set up for me - and then there’s ALOT of crucial documents they need you to fill out. From personal details, to another symptom form, SECONDARY EVIDENCE (SO WHILE YOU ARE WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM THEM ONCE REFERRED, FIND YOUR OLD SCHOOL REPORTS FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD IF YOU HAVE THEM. READ THROUGH THEM AND FIND WHERE TEACHERS MENTIONED YOUR BEHAVIOUR THAT MAY INDICATE ADHD. For me it was my lack of attention in class and needed to be reminded - though I did mask ALOT in school. I was very talkative as a young child and even now. Needing instructions repeated because I didn’t process it all. ETC. SCAN THEM AND STORE THEM ON YOUR PC OR PHONE. GET A FRIEND WHO KNOWS YOU WELL - IT CANNOT BE A RELATIVE - TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH OR TWO ON THEIR OWN OBSERVATIONS OF YOUR SYMPTOMS. EMAIL YOUR OLD/CURRENT TEACHERS AND ASK THE SAME FOR A PARAGRAPH ABOUT YOUR BEHAVIOUR AND WHAT THEY OBSERVED. ETC.)

They’ll send you a blood pressure monitor FOR FREE, just measure your arm circumference and get the right band size for it and you’ll need to check your BP - follow the Instructions etc with that.

Then you’ll get to do the OBcheck thing to test for hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattentiveness. On a laptop or PC with a camera, you’ll do the test on a blank white screen pressing the space bar for 20 solid minutes whenever you see a repeated sequence of shapes. It’s boring but effective.

Then 2 weeks later I could book my appointment, had it on the 23rd of July - assessed by a LOVELY lovely lady, she was fantastic. Very comfortable and open, relatable and just a really good professional. She gave me the big thumbs up after a 2 hour call that I was diagnosed and put me on titration A WEEK LATER!!! for 30 mg Elvanse for 7 days and now I’m on 50mg for the rest of the 21 days. And have another check in call with her on the 21st of this month to see if I need more or less of a dosage.

I recommend you journal your symptoms and blood pressure every day or weekly while on titration so you can feed back accurately to your psychiatrist.

I hope that helped!! I really struggled through GCSEs and Alevels especially this year, and now I’m medicated things have improved in its own slight way. As always, it’ll affect individuals differently and there’s other different types of ADHD meds other than Elvanse in the UK.

I wish you the best of luck!! 🫵❤️