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GP Refferal

Happy_Hoppy

Advice needed please!! Pray tone1
My 8 year old daughter was diagnosed last year with ASD, I would like her referred for an ADHD assessment as I can see more and more of what feels like ADHD the older she gets. I went to the GP and he said he can't refer her without a report from school. However, she is the queen of masking, school see a completely different child and don't even recognise a lot of her ASD never mind ADHD.
My questions are....
- For the right to choose pathway, would the same still apply?
- Would she need a school report on what they think to enable a GP to refer to a specific provider? Has a GP got to agree a referral is needed in the first place before right to choose comes into the equation?
- Can a GP refuse to refer her via the standard route and also the right to choose route if they feel that there isn't enough evidence based on the possibility that school say they don't see it? - Why would schools opinion count more than a parents opinion?
- If I chose to access a private diagnosis that I funded, does anyone know if this would be recognised the same if she was diagnosed?

Sorry for the long post but I've no idea where to go for support and feel like screaming with going round in circles!!!

    1. Sorry I should of added - it was the SENCO who advised me to go to the GP rather than being referred via school as it's us as parents that see it more so than school....

  • Some GP Practice csn be more reluctant about ADHD than Autism assessments.  This can be rooted in the different funding models involved ...no expert but I know that from reading a news item on our GP Practice Patient webpage.

    The ADHD UK.website hss two good pages about all of this.  Even though you are seeking a child assessment, do still also click the box "Adult Diagnosis Pathway" to read the procedural tips about the adult assessment process as it talks about reluctant GPs etc.

    On the below page, right down the bottom, there is a comment box describing how common it is the meet GP reluctance - they even have a template letter to get people started with tackling the matter.

    https://adhduk.co.uk/right-to-choose/

    Diagnosis Pathways For Children:

    https://adhduk.co.uk/adhd-diagnosis-pathways-children/

    ADHD UK support groups information:

    https://adhduk.co.uk/support/

  • Happy_Hoppy said:
    Has a GP got to agree a referral is needed in the first place before right to choose comes into the equation?

    I don't know if this is a rule but I understand that the school should be the one making the request for assessment through your GP

    According to:

    https://www.kids.org.uk/guides/adhd/

    If you think your child has ADHD and needs extra support, a GP or the school can help with a referral to a specialist for diagnosis.

    So I would ge in touch with the schools special educational needs co-ordinator and ask them how they can go about assessing if this needs to be escallated. They should be clued up enough to be able to explain the whole process to you but if you are unhappy with what you hear then ask them who they report to so you can escalate if you think it needs it.

    It is worth knowing that a lot of autists also have ADHD symptoms (I certainly do) but we don't reach the level where it is a separate diagnoisis. The symptoms have a lot of overlap (autistic ADHD and full ADHD) so it could be this you are seeing in your daughter. The SENCO should be able to explain this based on their observations so don't be afraid to ask them about it.

    Happy_Hoppy said:
    If I chose to access a private diagnosis that I funded, does anyone know if this would be recognised the same if she was diagnosed?

    It would be worth checking with your GP to find which suppliers they would accept the diagnosis from to add to her NHS record. By using their approved suppliers then it should be simple to present the diagnosis to the GP to be added.

    Good luck