An Armagh woman said she has been forced to teach herself how to live with possible ADHD and Autism due to a lack of services in the Southern Trust area for adults with the conditions.
The 38-year-old woman – who wished to remain anonymous – said she first began looking into symptoms around three years ago after hitting a sudden and severe low.
The more she read, the more she said she began to “discover” herself and everything seemed to “make sense”.
Speaking to Armagh I, the woman said that throughout her life she struggled with maintaining friendships, relationships and holding down employment.
She fell into depression and sought support with that through her GP. But anti-depressants did little to address the root cause, and she knew something was “still not right”.
She admits, it was TikTok that first drew her attention to the symptoms of ADHD in adults.
She said: “I always knew there was something going on with me, I just didn’t know what. ADHD wasn’t even a possibility in my mind as I associated it with a little boy bouncing off the walls. It wasn’t until my mid 30s when I essentially had a breakdown from masking my whole life and pushing through a high pressure job. I then started seeing alot of information on TikTok which really resonated with me, it described me to a ‘t’.”
Curious, she visited her GP again to raise her concerns. She was advised she would join a “waiting list” for assessment. No appointment has ever come and no support has ever been provided and she says she has since discovered that “no such list exists!”
She explained: “I reached out to my GP, where I was told I ‘didn’t have every single symptom’ so likely didn’t have it. It wasn’t until she [the GP] learned of the trouble I’d been in in my youth when she took it more seriously, but it still took me to speak to a second GP who then added me to a referral list, that I later discovered doesn’t even exist.
“I also sought help with an autism assessment to which I was told ‘what’s the point of getting a diagnosis at your age?’
But she insists that ADHD and Autism diagnosis should not only be relevant in childhood.
“A diagnosis would help me understand myself,” she said. “I would be able to find better ways to handle things that I find difficult, I might be able to take medication that would calm my symptoms or access support services.”
In that last three years, she admits she has turned to “self-medication” due to a lack of services in the Trust area.
This she says has helped her immensely.
“Who I am now is completely different to three years ago. I understand what might be going on with me and I have learned different ways to approach things. Now, when I react a certain way to something I know why and I can adapt.”
But the lack of diagnosis and, therefore, acknowledgement makes her feel “no one takes me seriously”.
If she had of received a diagnosis in childhood, she believes things may have been very different.
“I would have known that my brain can’t function properly while sitting still…. like I need to be moving in some form. Yet, in school you’re expected to sit still and not move.
“Also how I learn is being visibly shown things and through trial and error, not books etc. Everyone’s expected to learn things the same way,” she said.
She also thinks early “training” in how to cope with her symptoms would have helped her form longer lasting relationships and assisted her in employment.
“The greatest impact of remaining undiagnosed has been years of unnecessary self-blame, missed support, repeated burnout, and living without an explanation for lifelong challenges,” she said. “Being left undiagnosed doesn’t just delay a diagnosis — it delays understanding, appropriate treatment, and the ability to build a life around your actual needs instead of constantly fighting against them.”
Some of the areas she says she struggles most with include: “Thoughts going a mile a minute, not being able to focus on one thought without another thought ricocheting into it. Executive dysfunction and task paralysis, simple tasks that most people do automatically—having a shower, replying to a message, making food, paying a bill, or tidying one room—can feel as mentally demanding as climbing a mountain.
“The harder I try to force myself, the more overwhelmed and stuck I become. It’s exhausting because I’m constantly fighting my own brain. Some days I can do ten things with no problem, and the next day I can’t even start one. It’s not because I’ve stopped caring; it’s because my brain’s ability to organise, initiate, prioritise, and switch between tasks changes from day to day.”
She says she is capable of conversation but struggles in groups and often feels she needs a “safety person” with her when socialising.
When facing a simple task, she says her brain breaks it down “into steps” and depending on the number of steps she identifies, she may or may not be able to take it on at all.
When it comes to speaking to medical professionals she says they often dismiss her as “high functioning” and say she’s unlikely to be Autistic because she can make eye contact, is verbal and does not stim.
But, to this, she says “Autism is a spectrum. They are dismissing me at the high end of that spectrum on a brief 30 minute conversation with me.
“I have a delayed response to most things and it takes me time to process information so a lot of times I go home after an appointment and realise what I should have said or what has actaully happened.
“I have realised now it’s easier for me to write a letter before going to an appointment so I remember what to say and how to say it.”
Overall, she says adults like herself are being “failed”. She has recently written a letter of complaint to the Southern Trust detailing her experience and disappointment.
Of the need for improved services, she adds: “They would help allow people to access much needed medication and support.
“I’ve now had to resort to self medication and honestly the difference it has made has been absolutely life changing. Just the fact of now understanding how my brain works and why I do and react to things the way I do has been life changing.
“Meaningful change requires systemic reform. No adult should be denied understanding or support because of the absence of dedicated adult ADHD services or outdated perceptions of neurodivergence.
“Northern Ireland must commission adult ADHD services and equip all frontline clinicians with modern, evidence-based training to recognise the full range of neurodevelopmental presentations.”
And, this woman is not alone. Sinn Féin Cllr Catherine Nelson recently highlighted the growing number of people within the Southern Trust area with “nowhere to turn” in regards to adult ADHD services.
She said: “Over recent weeks I have been contacted by a number of constituents who are struggling to access support for adult ADHD.
“The position is deeply concerning. At present, the Southern Health and Social Care Trust has confirmed there is no commissioned adult ADHD service, no waiting list and no referral pathway to another Trust.
“For many people, this means they are left with an impossible choice – pay privately for assessment and ongoing treatment or go without support altogether.
“Healthcare should never depend on a person’s ability to pay.”
The councillor says she will continue to press the Trust and the Department of Health for answers on why adults in the Southern Trust area have no commissioned ADHD service, what interim arrangements are in place while a regional service is developed and how people can access appropriate NHS assessment, treatment and medication.
“Everyone deserves fair and equitable access to healthcare, regardless of where they live or their financial circumstances,” she added. “If you have been affected by the lack of adult ADHD services, please feel free to get in touch.”
A spokesperson for the Southern Health and Social Care Trust said: “There is no commissioned adult ADHD diagnostic service therefore the Southern Trust does not hold a waiting list for this service.
“Patients who receive a diagnosis in children’s services will be referred to a consultant psychiatrist in adult mental health services for medications monitoring.
“The Department of Health published an ADHD Needs Assessment report in February 2026 and its recommendations are now being considered by the Department with a view to identifying next steps.”
