Can ADHD Funding Follow the Path of Autism Funding?
In case you hadn't heard, there is an ADHD storm brewing. We have been watching this stormcloud build and engulf parents of children with ADHD, as they battle their way through the school system and everyday life with little or no support.
Children with an autism diagnosis can now access funding through both State Governments (integrated learning assistance at schools) and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which is a remarkable improvement when compared to the status quo 15 years ago where parents were cashing in their super and remortgaging their homes to pay for early intervention therapies. Unfortunately, there does not yet seem to be any sign of this kind of funding to help those with an ADHD diagnosis alone.
According to Dr Kohn, ADHD Australia President, ADHD is a neurological condition linked to impulsive behaviour and an impeded ability to pay attention and plan and it affects 5 - 7% of the population.
Recent ADHD Survey Findings
A national survey of 1,184 parents of kids with ADHD by Parents for ADHD Advocacy Australia, found that of the parents surveyed:
- 21% had experienced pressure for an "escalated diagnosis"
- less than half or 42% thought that teachers had good or excellent knowledge of ADHD
- only 27% thought principals and 25% of counsellors had good or excellent knowledge of ADHD
- 17% received funding through the school, most commonly for a teacher's aide
- 50% were unsure if the teachers aid had any ADHD specific training
The Funding or Lack of for ADHD
A child with a diagnosis of ADHD alone, is less likely to access targeted funding in NSW unlike children with autism or certain mental health conditions. Children with ADHD alone are also less likely to receive funding under the NDIS.
In NSW, the Department of Education funding for children needing extra support is distributed across two schemes:
1. Low Level Adjustments for Disability
$288 million in 2019 which is general funding for additional teacher time and specialist teacher allocation. It is general funding not allocated to students.
2. Integration Funding Support
$200 million in 2019 has been allocated to support 10,000 individual students. This ranges from $2,390 to $61,670 per student.
Funding is typically used for additional teacher time, learning support and teacher training.
Eligibility requires students to meet a number of criteria including the State Govt's "disability criteria" which includes: language disorders, physical and intellectual disabilities, hearing and visual impairments, mental health problems and autism. These are further defined by the Departments in its "Disability criteria" document (dated 2003).
Interestingly, under "General Notes" it says: "Where there is evidence that a student has a significant disorder or malfunction that is not adequately described by one or more of the above criteria and the condition is impacting greatly on educational outcomes, the Coordinator Student Counselling and Welfare together with the Coordinator Special Education will consider all available documentation and make a determination on a case by case basis."
Surely this last sentence would cover children with a severe form of ADHD, without needing to misdiagnose them?
Implications
So why is any of this important? According to ADHD Australia president Michael Kohn, schools were "looking for the phrase that pays". The lack of funding for ADHD has far-reaching implications leading to misdiagnosis, overdiagnosis and funding of incorrect supports which ultimately leads to inefficient use of limited resources. Some observations that have been drawn from the recent survey include:
- teachers pushing families of children with ADHD to try for a diagnosis with better funding, such as autism or oppositional defiance disorder (ODD)
- funding being allocated to a teacher's aide, which some experts say this is not necessarily helpful as 'you are putting the least qualified person with the child who needs the most qualified person'
- it encourages the "agglomeration process" where you get one diagnosis and then keep adding on top of each other until you tip a child into emergency funding
- pushing for an incorrect diagnosis could affect a child's self-perception and inappropriate adjustments might be put in place by the school
- distorting figures through "diagnosis substitution" creates the perception that autism and ADHD are over-diagnosed
We would encourage the State and Federal Governments to revisit the manner in which ADHD is funded (or not) and its long term implications.
While many lobby groups are pushing for ADHD to be recognised as a disability why not shift the debate away from 'labels' or "Autism versus ADHD" to making existing schemes more accessible to both groups? There is growing evidence that the funding available to children with ADHD needs to increase. These kids need access to the appropriate supports in school and we need to see more training to better equip our teachers, principals and counsellors to support ADHD children and their parents.
At MyCareSpace we do our best to support parents by sourcing supports, resources, people and places to give your ADHD child the best chance to a good start in life.
MyCareSpace offers:
Inclusive School holiday Camps
Read the article in the smh: "The Phrase that Pays"
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