ADHD

Healthier Together wants to hear from people who have taken part in Adult ADHD peer support in Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire

What is Healthier Together?

Healthier Together is the name given to our Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care System (ICS). It is made up of ten partner organisations including the 3 local authorities, 3 NHS Trusts, the Integrated Care Board (ICB), community and GP providers.

What are we doing?

We have a project underway to improve support for people with ADHD pre and post assessment. This includes improving the way peer support is offered and delivered.  ADHD peer support groups are places where people with ADHD can talk, share ideas and help each other. We would like to know what people think about these groups.

How can you help?

We want to hear from people who have taken part in ADHD peer support in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to understand their experience and to see where there may be opportunities for our local health and care system to support them better.

What it will involve

We can arrange an informal conversation either individually or as part of a small group. Alternatively, you can provide your feedback via a survey in your own time, whichever you feel most comfortable with.

The questions we will ask are:

1. Why is peer support important to you?
2. What do you most want from peer support?
3. What do you like about the peer support you access now?
4. What could be improved from peer support available now?
5. Do have any issues for which you need a deeper level of understanding and help than peer support can provide? For example: shame/guilt, self-criticism, low self-esteem, masking, rejection sensitivity; or anything else that not only makes it difficult for you to develop and maintain strategies and techniques for managing your ADHD symptoms but also makes it difficult to recognise and utilise your own strengths and abilities.
6. Any other comments?

How long it will last and where it will take place.

We will arrange to speak to you on a convenient day and time.

• One-to-one conversations can take place using Zoom, Microsoft Teams or on the telephone, whichever is easiest for you and will last for up to 30 minutes.
• Group discussions will take place using Zoom and will last for up to one hour.  

If you would prefer to provide your feedback via a survey – a link to an online self-completion survey will be sent to you to complete in your own time.

How the information you provide will be used

The information you provide will be confidential and held in line with the BNSSG ICB privacy policy – https://bnssg.icb.nhs.uk/about-us/how-we-use-your-information. It will be used only for the purpose of contacting you to arrange discussions or to send you the link to the survey.

Whether or not you want take part in this “conversation” to inform our understanding of how well the peer support is working is completely up to you. Your decision to take part or not will have no impact at all on the support you are receiving.

What happens next?

If you are happy to help, please click this link to provide your contact details and tell us how you would like to provide your feedback.

• For those wishing to take part in a one-to-one or group discussion – we will email you to arrange a convenient time to speak to you.
• For those who would like to provide their feedback via a survey – we will email you a link to an online survey to complete in your own time.

University of Surry looking for participants for research into treating ADHD with home-based Neurostimulation

This project has been reviewed and approved by the University of Surrey Ethics Committee – Application number – 2024 0889/843-3

The University of Surrey are looking for volunteers to take part in a brain stimulation study. The experiment includes brain stimulation sessions self-administered at home. One 20-minutes session per day over two weeks (10 sessions in total). It will also involve using an app on a tablet provided to you and responding to a few questionnaires before and after the stimulation sessions. Additionally, you will be required to wear an actigraphy watch at night to monitor your sleep quality. You can also be involved in interviews after for further understanding of your experience. Participants will be reimbursed up to £70 in Amazon vouchers.

Please note this is a home-based study and involves the following:
• One session per day, from Monday to Friday
• Each session lasts 20 minutes, and you can decide when to take it
• The whole intervention lasts for two weeks.

If you are 18 or older and diagnosed with ADHD, you may be eligible to participate in this research study. The requirements are that you have no neurological or mental health disorders (e.g., Autism spectrum disorder and substance use disorders). No concurrent medication or after 2 weeks washout period. No cranial metal implants, no medical devices (e.g., cardiac pacemaker) and no personal history of epilepsy/a first degree relative with epilepsy.

For contact details, please see the poster below:

Do you want to help improve NHS Adult ADHD Services in Bristol, North Somerset, & South Gloucestershire?

The Bristol North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care System (BNSSG ICS) is working with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and Bristol Adults ADHD Support Group to improve the provision of ADHD services and assessment pathway. This involves how Primary Care can be more involved with managing ADHD patients.

We are looking for members of the public who have received an ADHD diagnosis, either through a Right to Choose Provider or paid for a private assessment themselves, to join our ADHD Service User Group. This group will contribute to the development and provide valuable insight into the proposed improvements for the ADHD pathway and future model.

A six-month membership of the Service User Group will involve attending meetings that are:

• monthly
• one hour long
• held virtually on MS Teams
• attended by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP)
  professionals and other service users with a diagnosis who were assessed
  through AWP’s ADHD service

The roles attract a recognition fee of £18 per hour.

To express your interest, write a short statement (up to 250 words) telling them what particular experience you can bring to the project.

The full roll description and contact details are here on BNSSG’s Healthier Together site.

Bristol Adult ADHD Support Group

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, 31 October 2024 from 7 pm to 9 pm at the Bristol Central Quaker Meeting House on Champion Square. You do NOT need to email first, nor sign up, nor book a place, just simply show up! The meeting is free.

Dr Dietmar Hank, Consultant Psychiatrist & Clinical Lead for the NHS Bristol Adult ADHD Service, will be present at this meeting. He will give us a brief update about our local NHS Adult ADHD project and will answer questions about medication, titration, and any other matters relating to ADHD.  

For more details about our monthly meetings please see the Bristol Adult ADHD Support Group page.

Neurodiversity UK Launches with a Celebratory Picnic in Brighton

Join Us for a Neurodiversity Picnic!

Neurodiversity UK, a new social enterprise based in Brighton, is excited to announce its launch with a neurodiversity picnic at Preston Park, Brighton, on Sunday, August 18, 2024, at 1 PM. This event marks the beginning of our mission to empower the neurodiverse community across the UK.

Founded by individuals previously involved with the charity ADHD Aware, Neurodiversity UK aims to promote and support peer support groups. According to founder Jack Norwood, “We are building on 14 years of experience from our work with the Brighton ADHD Support Group and ADHD Aware. Our mission includes two key initiatives: a national community directory for neurodiverse support events and a support meeting for the organizers and volunteers of peer groups. These meetings offer a space where more experienced groups can mentor and support newer groups.”

If you are interested in adding your event to our directory or joining our initiatives, please visit our website. You can also join our mailing list here.

Neurodiversity Picnic Event Details

• Date and Time: Sunday, August 18, 2024, at 1 PM
• Venue: Preston Park, Brighton

Join us for an afternoon of fun and celebration. The picnic is open to neurodiverse adults and families. We will provide a gazebo with snacks, but please bring your own refreshments and food. No RSVP is required—just come and enjoy the company of fellow neurodiverse individuals.

Location and Accessibility

Brighton is well-connected with Thameslink and Southern Trains taking under an hour from London. Preston Park is accessible by public transport, with the number 5 bus and trains to Preston Park station. If driving, parking is available at the north and south ends of the park. Cycling is also a great option, with bike share hubs in the park. For detailed information on parking and transport, visit the Brighton & Hove Council’s website.

Connect with Us

Stay updated on the event through our Facebook events page, we also have blog post with our phone number if you have trouble finding us on the day.

We look forward to celebrating the launch of Neurodiversity UK with you and working together to support a vibrant neurodiverse community.

BBC2 Victoria Derbyshire Programme & adult ADHD

AADD-UK has received an email from Sarah Bell who is a producer for the Victoria Derbyshire programme on BBC2 and the News Channel.

She is hoping to make a film about adult ADHD, based on a study by King’s College London which identifies significant differences in brain activity between children whose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) continues into adolescence and adulthood, and those who later grow out of the disorder. They would like to make a short film about someone who has the condition and how it affects their life, perhaps spending a day with them. They would then hope to follow it up with a studio discussion. Sarah has assured us that this will be sensitively and responsibly handled by the BBC. This sounds like a good and positive opportunity for our voices to be heard.

Ideally they would like to start filming next week.

If anyone is interested, or would like more information please contact Sarah directly at sarah.bell@bbc.co.uk.

Here’s a link to information about the new study that has got the BBC interested in adults with ADHD

ADHD Top Tip (continuing…)

Do you ever need someone to e-mail you to remind you of something but have trouble finding someone reliable enough to do it at the right time, or at all?

A web service www.followupthen.com will do it for you. There are several ways to set up reminders, including by e-mail, and you can copy people in. Have a go and let us know what you think, or even let us know your own top tip.

Get Involved in a New Government Disability Strategy

Brighton Adult ADHD Group has been invited to contribute directly to a new cross-government disability strategy. The Government has published a discussion document with questions and Brighton Adult ADHD Group wants to gather your views, to make sure we represent the experiences of people with ADHD in Sussex.

To share your views please come to our discussion event. We will have a speaker from the Office for Disability Issues.

Date:  Wednesday 7^th March

Time:  18.30 – 20.00

Location: The Brunswick Room, The Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton, BN1 1YD

Light refreshments will be provided

For further information please contact Caroline Williams on 01403 733931

We want to talk about practical ideas that will make a real difference to your life. The Government has asked us to focus on three areas:

• realising aspirations
• increasing individual control
• changing attitudes and behaviours

We have made a questionnaire with questions relating to each area that can be downloaded here. It would be helpful if you could fill in your responses before coming to the meeting, and bring them with you. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please email your responses as soon as possible to mail@adhdbrighton.org.uk

We will send a report of our event to the Government. They will look at everyone’s suggestions and work with disabled people to publish a new strategy later this year.

If you want to find out more visit www.odi.gov.uk/fulfillingpotential

Update:Cambridgeshire’s denial of NHS treatment for adults newly diagnosed with ADHD

AADD-UK has not yet received an official response to our letter (see previous post on this subject) regarding the actions taken by NHS Trusts and Commissioning Groups in Cambridgeshire which restrict access to NICE recommended treatments for people who are diagnosed as adults with ADHD.  However, we notice that the new low priority policy for ADHD has been removed from the website for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Public Health Network and has been replaced by the words “Please note this policy has been temporarily withdrawn.” You can read this for yourself here.

Now we do realise that this removal could just be coincidence, and may or may not be a good sign.  But Cambridgeshire County Council, who also received a copy of our letter, has made a very positive move.  The Council’s “Adults Wellbeing and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee” has listed under Agenda Item 7a (for their meeting on 8 February 2012) in “Committee priorities and work programme 2011/12” the following: “Provision of medication for adults with ADHD: The Chairman has received representations from individuals with ADHD on this issue.  It is proposed that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, with the support of the Scrutiny and Improvement Officer, follows this up with NHS Cambridgeshire.”

Well done and a big AADD-UK Thank You to Councillor Kevin Reynold, the Chairman of the Committee!

The meeting of the Adults Wellbeing and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee is open to the public so if you live in Cambridgeshire and have been affected by the low priority policy do please go to the meeting. The meeting is on Wednesday 8 February 2012 at 2:30 PM in the Kreis Viersen Room, Shire Hall, Cambridge.  More details are available on their website here.

And again, Thank You Councillor Reynold!