ADHD: Bay Paediatrics’ Freddie Bennett on how a diagnosis changed his life

Bay Paediatrics managing director Freddie Bennett says he has experienced symptoms of ADHD his whole life.

Freddie Bennett’s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis was a turning point in his life. After years of feeling lost and “broken”, a diagnosis gave him an understanding of why he thought and acted the way he did. It is one reason why the Tauranga father co-founded a paediatric clinic specialising in ADHD. He speaks to reporter Megan Wilson about giving families of children with ADHD “confidence for the future”.

Freddie Bennett has felt the impacts of ADHD his “whole life”.

At school, he was inattentive, a daydreamer, unable to focus.

As an adult, he indulged in more “risk-taking” behaviours; becoming stressed, depressed, unfit, overweight, drinking and partying heavily.

He would go to work wearing a “mask of normality” but felt “chronically overwhelmed”.

“Everything on the inside would be falling apart.”

When he was diagnosed with ADHD, he realised, “maybe I’m not broken”.

His diagnosis gave him acceptance and understanding.

“All of a sudden, it’s like someone shows you a map of this place that you’ve always wanted to go to, but you didn’t quite know where it was.”

Bennett is sharing his story as managing director of Bay Paediatrics - a private paediatric clinic specialising in ADHD diagnosis and treatment in Tauranga.

On Thursday, it will launch the New Zealand Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence at its Elizabeth St clinic, with Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey attending.

The centre houses Bay Paediatrics and AncorA - a private clinic specialising in ADHD diagnosis and treatment for adults.

Bay Paediatrics is launching the NZ Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence at its Elizabeth St clinic on July 31.

A Bay Paediatrics statement said more than 120,000 children lived with ADHD or autism in NZ.

Bennett told the Bay of Plenty Times he exhibited “masking behaviours” at school.

“It’s a horrible phrase, but I tried very hard to be ‘normal’.”

His teachers attributed his inattentiveness and forgetfulness to laziness or stupidity, instilling the idea he was “not enough”, he said.

He became quiet and retreated into himself.

When ADHD was first raised in his 30s, “I was in a really dark place mentally”.

He thought if he understood how his brain worked, “I can actually make something of myself”.

Bay Paediatrics managing director Freddie Bennett signed up for the 'world’s toughest foot race' in the Sahara Desert in 2019.

Bennett signed up for the “world’s toughest foot race” in the Sahara Desert in 2019.

“I had 18 months to go from literally zero fitness to running 300km across the Sahara Desert, which was hard, but that’s one of the good parts about ADHD is that we have an amazing ability to hyper-focus on things that we’re passionate about.”

Last year he did Beyond the Ultimate, which he said was “the world’s coldest ultra marathon” in the Arctic.

He wanted to prove, especially to children, “that everyday people can achieve extraordinary things”.

Bay Paediatrics managing director Freddie Bennett did Beyond the Ultimate in 2024, which he said was 'the world's coldest ultra marathon' in the Arctic.

Bennett said when his son was diagnosed with ADHD in the public system, they experienced “waiting” and “uncertainty”.

While the specialists and quality of the assessment were great, the length of time it took was an issue, he said.

It inspired Bennett and his wife, paediatrician and ADHD expert Dr Sarah Moll, to found Bay Paediatrics.

Bennett said Bay Paediatrics opened last year and demand had been “huge”, with families travelling from across the country for appointments.

He said the NZ Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence was “the first of its kind” in the country.

In the public system, families could be waiting “years” for “answers and treatment”, Bennett said.

Bay Paediatrics co-founder and paediatric consultant Dr Sarah Moll (middle).

Bennett said his service meant a family could have an 8am appointment and by 4pm, they had an ADHD medication prescription, treatment plan, and “confidence for the future”.

The centre could assess, diagnose, and support children and adults with ADHD, autism, and “wider neurodivergent conditions” such as dyslexia and dyspraxia.

Bennett said recent government legislation allowing GPs to diagnose ADHD was for adults and excluded children.

“My mission ... is to make the Bay of Plenty the Silicon Valley of neurodiversity.”

Moll - who worked publicly and privately - said it was exciting to “put NZ at the forefront of using innovative technology in ADHD assessments”.

Moll said she was the only paediatrician from NZ invited to speak at the 2025 ADHD World Congress in Prague in May.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.