New adult ADHD management programme

A new programme is being launched to help adults with ADHD to manage their condition. 

The ‘understanding and managing adult ADHD programme’ (UMAAP) began the first round of its formal delivery on 28 April. The programme includes five two-hour sessions facilitated by a senior psychologist over five weeks. The first round will be run online. 

CEO of ADHD Ireland Mr Ken Kilbride told Medical Independent (MI) the UMAAP is a management tool to “help people with ADHD manage their condition when they just got assessed or while they’re waiting to get assessed”. 

The “next four or five” rounds of the programme, which will run during 2022, will be evaluated and refined, according to Mr Kilbride. “Then hopefully we’ll be in a position to go back to the HSE with an evaluated programme for roll-out [in] 2023.” 

The UMAAP was devised in conjunction with the School of Psychology in University College Dublin, ADHD Ireland and the HSE’s ADHD in Adults National Clinical Programme. The programme will later be accessible through specialised ADHD clinics in each community health organisation (CHO), which are being rolled out as part of the national clinical programme. These clinics are currently only available in three out of nine CHOs. 

Clinical Lead for the national clinical programme, Dr Margo Wrigley, told MI: “[The first round of the UMAAP] will be available for people living in the areas where we don’t yet have a service. Equally, for those who have gone through the service, we think it will be very helpful for them as well because it will enable them to feel more in charge of managing their ADHD.” 

The first participants in the new programme have come from an ADHD Ireland focus group, which took part in a pilot last year. 

The online format has its advantages, according to Mr Kilbride, as participants can come from all around the country. However, the aim is for the programme to become a face-to-face or hybrid model in future.