Member's statement: ADHD Services
Member's statement by Ms Cara Hunter on .
- MLA
- Ms Cara Hunter
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 20 May 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- ADHD Services
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4490513
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I also want to talk about those living with ADHD in Northern Ireland. People who have an ADHD diagnosis in the North are treated absolutely appallingly. They face an unbelievable level of challenges and a wait of years to even get a diagnosis. The lack of investment and support from the Department of Health for support services is absolutely shocking. There is also a huge lack of clarity on how to get a diagnosis, which leaves many worried and thousands uncertain about how to go for assessment. For those who go private, there are so many difficulties, including a lack of shared care between the public and private health services. That causes a lot of confusion specifically for concerned parents, young people and adults. Last year, I met a student who was attending university and could not get access to specialist support on her university campus until her private consultant liaised with her public GP. Sadly, at the time, her consultant had taken a long holiday and that resulted in a lack of the support that she needed on her academic journey. That is just one story among many. Children with ADHD are, sadly, wrongly labelled and seen as disruptive and problematic. For women and girls, it can be particularly difficult to be diagnosed as they often do not present typically or in the same way that boys and men do. Women and girls are more likely to be diagnosed with mood disorders or mental health problems.
Parents are desperately seeking support, but so rarely do they get it. There is a huge amount of work for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust and the Western Health and Social Care Trust to do in my constituency to support the families who are desperately seeking support for their children. In the absence of support via the trusts, I thank ADD-NI, which does an incredible job and incredible work with so little money to support and empower the children, young people, adults and families throughout the North who are affected by ADHD. I learned recently that there is a genetic component to ADHD. We are not educated on that at school. It is important to raise it in the House. I met people from ADD-NI recently. We touched on the severe anxiety, which has been mentioned, among those with an ADHD diagnosis about running out of meds. Ryan Hendry, a man with ADHD, said that he has a daily fear of running out of his medication and that it feels like a "doomsday clock". Those shortages have lasted for seven months now. Patients with an ADHD diagnosis have endured that for seven months. The Department of Health has said that the UK-wide disruption should be resolved by September, but where can those people find support in the meantime? Where can they find the crucial meds that they are so dependent on? People who work full-time spend entire days looking for medication. The system is not fit for purpose. Medication helps those people to focus, and it helps them with their work, their life and with self-regulation. So many are struggling in its absence. I urge Members across the House to keep ADHD at the forefront of their mind and to continue the fight for appropriate services, and I ask the Minister to do all that he can to help.
558 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.05 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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