What can the Scottish Government do?

There are a number of things which the Scottish government and Scottish public services can do which would improve the current situation.

We are calling on them to:

1. Ensure that all schoolteachers have an understanding of the condition so that difficulties are identified at an early stage and so that appropriate support can be provided in schools. This could be achieved at little additional cost by:

• Improving Initial Teacher Training Programmes
• Improve early identification and assessment in schools by screening the ‘at risk’ population (e.g. pupils excluded from school).
• Providing information and Continuing Professional Development opportunities via Education Scotland
• Identifying ADHD as a discrete Additional Support Need in the national school census
• Ensuring that Local Education Authorities record all pupils known to have been identified with ADHD in their areas

2. Improve the training of professionals working in primary health care settings (e.g. doctors and health visitors) in recognising the early onset symptoms of ADHD
3. Ensure that police, social care professionals and all services involved in supporting children and families have access to high quality training in ADHD and related childhood disorders.
4. Ensure that the regulatory authorities (e.g. Education Scotland, The Care Inspectorate) scrutinise services in their support for children, adults and families affected by ADHD.
5. Improve the access to, and provision of, mental health services for both children and adults with ADHD and associated disorders. This includes careful planning of the transition from paediatric to adult psychiatric services for young people with ADHD.
6. Recognise the importance of ADHD in legislative programmes and initiatives aimed at improving the health and welfare of the Scottish population.
7. Provide funding for research into the social and economic costs of ADHD on the Scottish population and on public spending at local, regional, and national levels.