Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 18 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to promote public awareness of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in (a) general and (b) relation to adults.
The Scottish Government is taking a range of steps to promote awareness of ADHD, often targeted at professionals in healthcare and education settings in order to maximise impact.
The Scottish Government published the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People in 2021. This specifies the standards that all children’s services should follow to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland. Whilst aimed at service providers, it nevertheless serves to promote general awareness of the needs of children with ADHD across NHS Health Boards and Local Authorities.
Additionally, last year, resources on ADHD were published on Education Scotland’s website. These cover the common features, positive traits and challenges of ADHD. This was accompanied by a webinar, attended by over 300 individuals.
As part of our work on implementing Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways, the Scottish Government is working with the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to ensure that Health and Social Care Partnerships across Scotland are equipped to support adults with ADHD.
The Scottish Government provides funding to NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to deliver neurodiversity training resources for staff across agencies, including health and social care, and education. This training is delivered both in-person and via an online learning hub. It equips staff to deliver for neurodivergent individuals, including those with ADHD, across the lifespan. In 2023, at least 1,243 individuals attended webinars that dealt specifically with ADHD across the lifespan, and at least 2,189 individuals accessed the recordings of these sessions at a later date.
As part of our consultation on potential provisions within a future Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, consideration is also being given to the possible introduction of mandatory training on neurodivergence, including ADHD, for public-facing staff in some public services.