If you are a child, young person or adult waiting for an assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), you will likely need to be very patient. Current waiting times for an NHS ADHD assessment are long.

There may be the option of alternative providers under Right to Choose if you are based in England or paying for a private assessment, although the cost can be prohibitively expensive. Otherwise, you will have to wait.

Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board’s (ICB) waiting list is currently more than ten years, with over 7,500 children and young people waiting for an assessment. To meet the demand, the ICB announced a temporary pause from 21 May 2025 in new referrals for ADHD assessments for adults over the age of 25 to redirect support to children and young people.

NHS England reports that the number of referrals for ADHD assessments and treatment, as well as the number of prescriptions provided, has increased significantly. As of March 2025, they estimate that up to 549,000 people may be waiting for an ADHD assessment. According to recent figures published by NHS England, 2,498,000 people in England are estimated to have ADHD, which is approximately four to five per cent of the population in England. Out of that figure, approximately 30 per cent are children and young people aged between 5 and 24.

The ADHD Taskforce, launched by NHS England in March 2024 to identify ways to improve care for people living with ADHD, published part one of its report on 20 June 2025, with the final report due later this year. The report states that ADHD is under-recognised, under-diagnosed and under-treated. The taskforce acknowledges the importance of early prevention, as ADHD is costly when untreated. However, the backlog of waiting lists, which have escalated and are unacceptably long, needs to be urgently cleared to avoid increased unnecessary costs elsewhere. The taskforce recommends harnessing technology so that ADHD services are digitised and data improved.

The World Health Organisation defines ADHD as a persistent pattern of inattention of hyperactivity-impulsivity that has a direct negative impact on academic, occupational or social functioning. Living with undiagnosed ADHD and unmet needs can negatively impact all aspects of life, particularly mental health and wellbeing, and can lead to consequences such as school exclusion, unemployment, poverty and suicide. On the other hand, an ADHD diagnosis, and the support and treatment that follows, can be life changing. Early diagnosis is key, but a diagnosis at any stage can be transformative. Coventry and Warwickshire ICB’s decision to pause new referrals for adults aged over the age of 25 is likely to have significant consequences for those individuals under its care. Although a temporary measure, it is unclear how long this policy will remain in place. According to an article in The Guardian on 7 July 2025, the charity ADHD UK is preparing a legal challenge under the Right to Choose legislation against Coventry and Warwickshire ICB. While pausing ADHD assessments for adults over the age of 25 may allow the ICB to process more assessments for children and young people, the wait, although reduced, is still likely to be long.

The wait for an ADHD assessment means that children and young people with special educational needs may not have the necessary support in place at school or at college to meet their needs. Children and young people with undiagnosed ADHD are likely to face significant academic and social challenges in educational settings which could have long-term repercussions for their education and future life prospects.

If you need expert advice in relation to the issues discussed in this blog, please get in touch with our specialist Education Law team.