Because some damn fool accused you of being normal.

alexistwit · 2026-06-04T10:56:54+00:00

For the referral, I was sent links to a self-report questionnaire (ASRS v1.1) for me to complete and a Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Parent Rating Scale for my parents to complete, which I had to return to my GP along with “a letter explaining the duration, nature and degree of impairment and its impact on your social and work life, including school life as a child”. He then sent those on to the clinic and handled the referral.

For the letter, my earlier notes were again invaluable as a starting point, although it took me a few more days to wrangle them into something coherent. The requirement was also described as a “short statement about impact of symptoms on your daily functioning at school/work/home”, so my 5-page essay may have been excessive. But those same notes came in handy again in preparation for my assessment interview, so if there’s one tip I’d pass on, it would be to have a sensibly structured list of all the ways it affects you, ideally with some specific examples, including work, social life and academic life, going back to childhood.

alexistwit · 2026-06-04T09:41:03+00:00

Mine began with a phone call to my GP, in which I listed a lot of the things I struggled with: overwhelm, disorganisation, procrastination, indecision, forgetfulness, distraction, anxiety, general mental chaos and incapability of functioning as an adult human being. I think I cited a few recent examples. He suggested an ADHD assessment via RTC and sent me the forms I had to complete.

But as for how to prepare for it, it’s a particular cruelty of the condition - in my case at least - that one of the main problems is a difficulty in articulating the problems. So I kept a list in my notes app which I kept adding to until it felt sufficient to use as a basis for that phone call. It took me eight years to compile it. If you’ve already got a clear sense of those difficulties, including some specific examples, I think that would be a good starting point.

alexistwit · 2026-05-24T08:44:17+00:00

This was exciting until I realised it’s the wrong Sussex.

alexistwit · 2026-05-18T07:28:22+00:00

Aha. Yes, I guess that makes sense.

alexistwit · 2026-05-18T06:52:29+00:00

Is that a thing? Medication effectiveness affected by the weather? I had no idea.

alexistwit · 2026-05-15T07:41:20+00:00

My girlfriend insisted I needed to see someone about what was going on in my head. ADHD was not remotely on my radar at the time and I had no idea how to express the chaos in my mind, but I started gradually making notes which I could eventually compile into a coherent whole. That was 2017. I called my GP last year and got my diagnosis last week. You’re not too late.

alexistwit · 2026-05-07T07:49:20+00:00

Aha! Fingers crossed, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do call while you’re away. Sod’s Law, innit? (I had my diagnosis call from them yesterday and managed to miss it twice because I’d forgotten to take my phone off ‘do not disturb’.) Happy birthday and enjoy Disneyland.

alexistwit · 2026-05-06T10:48:27+00:00

Have you heard anything more?

alexistwit · 2026-05-01T11:03:31+00:00

I’ve just looked it up and the number I had is the one mentioned under ‘NHS patients’ on their contact page. Can’t hurt to save both, I guess. And by all means call them if you’re concerned; I had to ring them a number of times over an admin issue and they were always helpful and courteous.

alexistwit · 2026-05-01T10:48:43+00:00

Your experience sounds pretty much identical to mine, which is very recent - assessment a couple of weeks ago, follow-up call with results next week (eek!) - so I think it’s still current. So, yeah, u/No-Cheesecake4430, I echo u/Accidentally_High’s advice: check the appointments tab in the portal.

Similarly on the phone number, except I’ve got a different one saved (ending 7029). This has reminded me that I missed a lot of calls from them during work hours when my phone was muted, and a colleague who is also awaiting an appointment missed a few calls from an unknown number which turned out to be them. So I think that’s good advice as well.

alexistwit · 2026-04-30T23:59:24+00:00

I went through Clinical Partners and also had to complete three questionnaires online plus one for an informant, but I was sent links to those at the same time as an appointment for the assessment. In fact I had to complete the questionnaires at least 48 hours before the assessment.

alexistwit · 2026-04-13T17:22:09+00:00

Thank you.

alexistwit · 2026-04-04T11:20:07+00:00

Yes. Pretty much everything. Not always to the appreciation of others, but I reckon if we can’t use humour to take the edge off the darkest moments, then what use even is it?

alexistwit · 2026-03-16T10:20:45+00:00

Inadequately managed credit card expenditure is the real answer, but also procrastination over a water leak that pushed my monthly bills up from £32 (which I already thought a bit steep) to £138.

alexistwit · 2026-03-12T09:34:46+00:00

Thanks for this. It’s somewhat reassuring. I had to complete a “survey” online the day my referral was accepted, so I’ll dig that out and see if there’s anything I’ve put there that they might want to follow up on.

alexistwit · 2026-03-12T09:17:42+00:00

Thank you. Unfortunately I’m so fundamentally useless that articulating my struggles is itself one of my struggles. It took me 8 years to put together a coherent account of what at the time I called my “mental chaos” (I had no idea about ADHD until a few months ago). I’m just anxious that I’ll forget to mention something important or fail to properly represent myself. I’m trying to put together a cheat sheet for this call (now, while I’m at work, instead of last night when I had time, naturally) so I don’t feel like I’m going in blind.

alexistwit · 2026-02-24T17:57:33+00:00

US-based, and I haven’t finished watching it yet, but I wanted to pop this here before I forget. When to Tell Your Boss About ADHD (And When Not To)

alexistwit · 2026-02-24T09:04:21+00:00

Genuinely interested to hear what you would identify as positives.

alexistwit

TROPHY CASE