My name is Cat Nolan, I am a 42 year old Irish  woman with a late diagnosis of ADHD, ADHD and ASD are hereditary, as the number of children with these disorders rise in Ireland, more and more adults (usually a parent of a child that's been diagnosed with one of these disorders) are coming forward with symptoms the same as their children

Both disorders can be debilitating to live with in every day life and come with a whole host of issues as these children grow into teens and adults, addiction, suicide, anxiety and depression and general deteriorating mental health are just a few of the problems that misdiagnosis and under diagnosis can cause 

It's time to act now! We need to address this huge issue early, prevention is better than cure! With addiction and suicide rates as high as they are we need things to change desperately, I believe if planned correctly that screening for ADHD and ASD could be carried out in the primary healthcare setting, local health centres, this screening is basic healthcare, teams which would consist of all disciplines needed for these assessments could be put together and based in our health centres where assessments could be carried out, this would alleviate current waiting lists and prevent future backlogs, along with creating huge employment around the country and possible reduction mental health issues in the future 

This of course is a complete overhaul and would take huge planning and proper research but maybe it's something along the lines of what we could aim for in time, if we do nothing then nothing changes, if we do something then maybe something can change, and it's at least a talking point to start with.

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