It wasn’t until Cork native Daniel Buckley reached his thirties that he was first diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and started on a life changing path that led him to co-found a platform to help others access support.
While he always had niggling thoughts that he might have ADHD, he shrugged off suggestions from his wife that he should seek out a diagnosis.
“When I was growing up you had ADHD if you were really bold in school, there wasn’t much more to it than that,” he said.
When his wife died in late 2022, he finally decided to go about booking an appointment.
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“Since my diagnosis I’m like a different person. I discovered and accepted who I am,” he said.
Buckley is one of an estimated 110,000 adults with ADHD in Ireland today, with a growing number of people seeking out diagnoses.
ADHD Ireland highlighted last year that HSE and community health services are “overwhelmed” by adults looking for ADHD assessment and treatment, with some clinics reporting that a third of new referrals are now for ADHD.
The association said that children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) waiting lists are also “largely populated by children awaiting ADHD assessment”, with the process of getting a private diagnosis for adults or children onerous and unregulated.
[ ‘A lot of young people with ADHD feel misunderstood by family and in school’Opens in new window ]
“When I looked into getting diagnosed, it was frustrating because there were 12 month waiting lists. Straight away I saw a problem with getting access to ADHD treatment, diagnosis and assessment,” said Buckley.
Buckley has cofounded ADHD Now, which he says is Ireland’s first online platform dedicated to ADHD diagnosis, and post-diagnosis pathways to treatment.
It takes an average of three weeks to get a final diagnosis through the platform, while the wait time could be 8 to 12 months through public services. ADHD Now prices its assessment and diagnosis service at €549, and also offers in-person assessments for children.
With a growing trend of people seeking ADHD assessments, and some who may perceive it as easier to obtain an ADHD diagnosis through an online platform, Buckley said that ADHD Now takes “no shortcuts”.
“Our assessments are carried out by clinical psychologists, there’s no shortcuts here just because it’s online,” he said.
With a team of 15 clinical psychologists and 2 psychiatrists, and plans to expand the team further, Buckley said their platform has diagnosed more than 120 people since it launched in September, and has already turned a profit.
He said that the company is aiming to hit monthly revenues of €250,000 by April, and then launch into the UK market.
“There’s no problem with the demand, people require the services, it’s about us keeping recruiting psychologists and psychiatrists to give people quicker access to ADHD treatment and therapy,” he said.
Buckley’s co-founders – ADHD Now chief executive Matthew Gavin and Stephen Hoare, both also have ADHD. He said they, along with investors John O’Connor and Jack Starling, did not establish ADHD Now to turn a profit, but to “allow people to get quicker access to help”
“If somebody just gains acceptance of themselves and discovers who they are, and is better able to manage their own mind and their mental health, that’s a win,” he said.
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