New ADHD pathway offers guidance for parents

A pathway aiming to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to the diagnosis and management of children and young people with ADHD was published by the Gibraltar Government on Thursday. 

Parents who have concerns about their child’s ability to pay attention and focus are advised under the pathway to seek professional help from either education professionals, the GHA or the Care Agency. 

The professionals will then complete a referral form and may carry out further assessments. 

A multi-disciplinary team meeting will then take place and focus on triage, review, diagnosis, and planning.  

Feedback will then be given to the child and their family to determine the assessment outcome and offer a diagnosis if required. 

Targeted support specific to the child’s needs will then be offered via a multi-agency approach, with parents receiving an official diagnosis letter. 

The pathway was launched by the Minister for Health and Care, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, Minister for Education Dr John Cortes, Minister for Equality and Disabilities Christian Santos, and the pathway’s clinical lead, consultant paediatrician Dr Lorena Soler Casale. 

Dr Soler Casale highlighted undertaking investigations into children as soon as there is a suspicion that they may have ADHD and doing so with a holistic approach. 

“Usually when you have a child with ADHD, the first one to notice a red flag is the teacher in the school, they are going to be telling you that the kid has a difficulty to be focused,” Dr Soler Casale said. 

“Once they get into the referral, we receive from different sources the referral. We meet, we have a weekly meeting where we categorize and triage the children and we discuss case by case.” 

“So, the parents, they go into this pathway, knowing exactly what the next step is and what expectations are.” 

Ms Arias-Vasquez said the pathway provides vital support for youngsters and their families in navigating diagnosis, support, and management of ADHD in children. 

“We are very pleased to be launching this because it's a tool for diagnosis, it tells parents what they need to do in order to get their child diagnosed with ADHD,” Ms Arias-Vasquez said. 

“It also brings in the Care Agency, so that referrals can come in from numerous different sources,” she added, explaining that it would give clarity to parents in how to proceed towards getting their child diagnosed with ADHD. 

The guidance falls under the neurodevelopmental pathway published last September, and sits alongside the existing Autism Spectrum Disorder pathway.  

“It's something that we [as a government] committed to, the neurodevelopmental pathway is an overarching pathway and these pathways come underneath it with specific guidance,” Ms Arias-Vasquez said. 

“The ones that we committed to doing were the autism spectrum pathway and the ADHD pathway. So, it's great to actually be doing exactly what we said that we'd be doing.” 

Ms Arias-Vasquez added that the matter “transcends politics”, which is why Opposition MPs Joelle Ladislaus and Atrish Sanchez were consulted in creating the pathway, with their feedback taken on board.  

Dr Cortes underscored the importance of early diagnosis for children. 

“I cannot exaggerate the value of this pathway,” Dr Cortes said. 

“It's essential, particularly in something as sensitive as this, that we should work together.” 

“Ensuring that children with ADHD receive the right support is fundamental, not only to their educational success, but also to their well-being.” 

Mr Santos praised the inter-ministerial approach on the Government’s part in launching the guidance for parents. 

“This has been something that is a true testament to the Government's commitment to inclusivity and accessibility,” he said. 

“Having three different ministries take part in this, we are looking at things from a whole, from a pathway perspective, from a very young age, the early diagnosis is very important, but this goes beyond just this pathway.” 

“It's about having insight into what will happen after, as soon as they grow up, and what different pathways that these children will be able to take after diagnosis.” 

“We are ensuring that children and their families receive the necessary guidance and assistance throughout their journey.”