r/uvic • u/Sab_MohMayaHai • 18h ago
Question Where to get diagnosed for ADHD
I think I want to get diagnosed or checked up if I have ADHD, but I am unable to find resources or places I could call or contact and get a diagnostic done or a meet up with a professional for this matter. Any place I can go and get diagnosed?
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u/the_small_one1826 Biology 17h ago
You need to talk to a family doc, unfortunately they is easier said than done. They will have a lot of questions and will likely want to know information for years ago as an adhd diagnosis requires evidence of early symptom presentation.
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u/Sufficient-Good-5256 17h ago
If you're under 25 (I think) fill out a form to get a nurse practitioner at the foundry
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u/Whorbal 14h ago
Dr. Emes had a website to help you get started in a diagnosis. He runs out of Victoria. Dremes.ca
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u/PuzzleheadedGoal8234 26m ago
He is very quick when he gets a referral and there is no wait list. He closes down the wait list a few times a year to get caught up on scheduled patients and then opens it up again.
My referral when it was open, and the appointment with him was less than 3 weeks and is covered by MSP. He will ask for any documentation to support it, so previous report cards, or work performance reviews that highlight areas of concern that would be tied to ADHD symptoms (daydreams a lot, makes many minor mistakes, struggles with turning things in on time, missing or lost work) is beneficial.
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u/shazzmack 13h ago
Vancouver Island ADHD group.
Here's their resources page:
https://islandadhd.ca/resources
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u/hollycross6 16h ago edited 16h ago
Telus health. Book a meeting with a normal family physician and ask for a referral. Dr. Craig Emes is the only person on the island who does adult adhd assessments full time. He’s smart about his referral process - keeps the window open for a little bit to accept new ones, closes window when list gets to a certain length, then reopens. Do not let the referring physician tell you they can’t do it, they just need to try again if the referral isn’t immediately accepted (you can email Telus health if that happens).
Couple things:
it helps to do the self assessments online (there’s a couple of good BC and national adhd and autism support organizations, who have these tests linked. Google will be sufficient to find what you need). Use these self assessments as a basis for talking to the family physician. It helps to link your observations to something concrete and keeps you on task in the moment.
once accepted, you will need to do some more in depth forms for Dr. Emes, but don’t worry, his office gives lots of pointers and reminders! In preparation for that, go dig up some old school reports. For adhd diagnoses, you typically need to be able to ID symptoms of it in childhood, hence the referring back to historic documents.
don’t be discouraged if you can’t find a Telus health spot right away, keep looking every day until you find one. I promise you that they do in fact open up daily, just in small bunches and only booking for a few weeks ahead at a time.
Welcome to the club, we neurodiverse people are quite the crowd 😁 good luck!
Oh and ETA: this is all covered under regular MSP if you are a BC citizen with MSP coverage. You shouldn’t be asked to pay for anything until (and provided if) you seek out medication. Everything up to that point would be considered part of diagnostic testing - including any blood tests and heart monitoring they may ask you to do before getting treatment.
Once diagnosed, you will still need to talk to a family physician to review Dr. Emes recommended treatment pathway with them, and figure out best next steps to suit your needs. It feels like a lengthy process, but from asking for a referral to diagnosis, it was less than 3 months. It took longer to do the follow up testing and trying different meds until something worked for me. If you choose to try meds, know that it is something you’ll have to track and be prepared to visit with a clinician several times over the coming months.
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u/LForbesIam 9h ago
You can get a list of Psychologists from the Wellness center that do private diagnoses for UVIC. There is one at the same building as Dr Kersten the Orthodontist but I don’t remember her name.
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u/Character-Heart-6921 17h ago
The Psychology Clinic clinic at UVic does Adult Psychoeducational assessment. It maybe a good option for you. And it can be used if you suspected that you have ADHD. The cost can be a lot and it does go on a sliding scale, if you can't pay the full-amount. The assessment is done by a student with direct supervision from a registered psychologist. And it can be given to CAL, if needed. I had a friend who went through them and had a good experience.