Writer and advocate Julie Legg said her ADHD diagnosis two and a year half years ago was life-changing: "Just knowing why I do what I do". She now supports women who are going through the same process. Photo / Tania Marie Photography
Writer and advocate Julie Legg said her ADHD diagnosis two and a year half years ago was life-changing: "Just knowing why I do what I do". She now supports women who are going through the same process. Photo / Tania Marie Photography
As stigmas around ADHD are increasingly reduced, more adult patients are seeking help in New Zealand – especially women. Their best chance of a diagnosis is in the private health system, but some are waiting more than a year for an assessment.
Steve* has booked appointments with sixspecialists across Auckland in the hope that he will get a cancellation spot.
The 39-year-old, from Auckland, had long wrestled with depression and anxiety but his treatment was not working. In his job as an advertising copywriter, he struggled with restlessness and poor concentration.
“I’m supposed to be sitting down, calmly thinking of insights and ideas and then writing them up into a script or a print or radio ad.
“And sometimes I might think of something and instead of knuckling down... I am up making another cup of tea or doing another lap the office – it’s just a weird impulsion to do anything other than the task at hand.”
A therapist suggested four years ago that he get assessed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) but he declined. He eventually sought help earlier this year after his 10-year-old son was diagnosed with the neurological condition (ADHD is usually genetic).
After getting a referral from his GP, he started calling around specialists.
“One of them said we can get you in in July, so I was like, ‘Oh, sweet’ and booked that one in. Then I got the text reminder and it said July 2025. They had a 13-month wait list.”
So he has scheduled multiple appointments in an attempt to get assessed as soon as possible. He notes that he is fortunate he can afford a private assessment, at an estimated cost of around $2000.
“That instantly rules out a lot of New Zealanders. So as a private-only option with no ability to be diagnosed publicly, there’s probably thousands and thousands of Kiwis out there who are living with the voices and the noise and the overwhelm in their heads, but are unable to act on it.”
Adults can seek a free assessment in the public system but psychiatrists, psychologists and neurologists are primarily focused on severe psychiatric conditions.
“There is almost no adult public access for ADHD,” said Royal New Zealand College of GPs (RNZCGP) medical director Dr Luke Bradford.
That means the best chance of assessment is a private specialist, which comes with significant costs and growing wait times.
The Herald surveyed 20 specialists across New Zealand who are known for ADHD assessments.
Around half of them were not taking new patients at all because they had full books. Of the remainder, the earliest available appointment was six weeks away. That was an outlier. The typical wait was six months to a year. One exasperated receptionist, who had no free appointments until August 2025, said they had received another request for an assessment two minutes earlier.
Auckland-based psychiatrist Dr John Joseph, who has been in private practice for 10 years, said demand for adult ADHD assessments began to rise three years ago, especially among female patients.
They now made up around 30-40% of his workload. His next appointment was three to four months away.
“It has been a huge spike,” Joseph said. “It’s clearly a new phenomenon, but it’s not localised in New Zealand, it’s happening across the Western world.”
ADHD NZ chairman Darrin Bull said the demand for adult assessments had three main drivers: age, gender and growing awareness.
Patients in their 30s and 40s were unlikely to have been diagnosed when they were at school so they were only now seeking an assessment.
ADHD has historically been perceived as a young, male condition partly because the symptoms can be harder to detect in girls, who are better at masking them. Now that it is known that it affects all people equally and can continue into adulthood, more women are seeking help.
Julie Legg, a 54-year-old writer and ADHD advocate, was diagnosed two and a half years ago. She described her condition as “internalised hyperactivity”, with “a million thoughts in my head”, endless to-do lists, impulsiveness, and a constant need to move. She was walking in circles in the garden during her interview with the Herald.
Her diagnosis was a relief, and validation for her belief that she was wired differently, she said.
“It has been a life-changer – just knowing why I do what I do.”
Legg, from the Waikato township of Ōhaupō, was assessed by a psychologist in the public health system, which she now considers “quite incredible”. She has written a book about her diagnosis and supports women going through the same process, most of whom have found getting a public assessment impossible.
“Unless you’ve crashed your car or you have suicidal ideations, don’t even bother because they’re so crammed you’re not going to get through.
“I feel for many women. I know it’s a political thing but damn, they really, really need help. And waiting for six to 12 months for an assessment is the worst thing for them.
“Because... you don’t get a golden ticket once you get a diagnosis and walk away and live happily ever after. There’s a lot of work to do after that, but it’s the first step, and I think that first step is so important.”
RNZCGP medical director Dr Luke Bradford says GPs may be able to diagnose and treat ADHD by the end of the year. Photo / Mead Norton
Advocacy groups, doctors and health officials are pursuing several solutions, including training GPs to carry out ADHD assessments.
Bradford, from the college of GPs, said this initiative required a technical amendment to the Medical Gazette, which says that only psychiatrists can treat ADHD. He expects this to be altered by the end of the year, which would allow GPs with an interest in ADHD to diagnose and treat the condition – a significant step.
It would increase access for patients and decrease costs. While patients would have to pay for a longer appointment – possibly 90 minutes – the bill would be much lower than the typical $2000 fee for a private assessment, Bradford said.
Medicines agency Pharmac is also reviewing the “special authority” rule which requires ADHD patients to see a psychiatrist every two years to renew their medication. If that requirement was changed, or delegated to GPs, it could also free up specialist capacity.
The most effective solution, Bull said, would be to diagnose people with ADHD earlier in life. However, there are similar workforce constraints among paediatricians and child psychiatrists and wait times for an assessment were even worse among children – up to two years in some regions.
A delayed diagnosis, or failure to diagnose, can have awful consequences. Patients with ADHD are more likely to attempt suicide. There are also significant implications for the criminal justice system, with some studies estimating more than half of inmates could have ADHD (compared to around 5% for the general population).
“For many people with ADHD, life is a crisis,” said Bull. “We know that not getting that help has a material effect on their lives.
“If you’re waiting and you’re in crisis, you can’t get that help that you need. I really believe this is one giant own goal for the health system.”
*name has been changed to protect patient’s privacy
Isaac Davison is an Auckland-based reporter who covers health issues. He joined the Herald in 2008 and has previously covered the environment, politics and social issues.
