⚠️This episode includes discussion of suicide, mental health crises, and systemic failures in neurodivergent healthcare. Listener discretion is advised, and we encourage you to prioritise your wellbeing while listening ⚠️.

In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott respond to reports that the NHS is once again restricting access to ADHD assessments in an attempt to save money — often without informing GPs or patients already waiting.

They unpack how limiting assessments don’t just delay diagnosis, but actively block access to support, accommodations, medication, and self-understanding, particularly for Autistic and ADHD people who already struggle to advocate for themselves. Drawing on their own late diagnoses, Jordan and Simon explain how years without recognition lead to mislabelling, shame, burnout, and serious mental health harm.

The conversation then turns to the real-world consequences of these delays, including a Guardian report detailing the death of a young man who fell through the cracks of the assessment and shared-care system. Jordan and Simon speak openly about grief, anger, and fear — and why framing ADHD as “not life-threatening” ignores the reality of emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, chronic stress, and suicide risk.

This episode has a clear message: withholding diagnosis and treatment is not neutral — it is dangerous.

They discuss:

• NHS limits on ADHD assessments and lack of transparency
• Long waiting times and being stuck between child and adult services
• Why diagnosis is a gateway to support, not a label
• ADHD medication, emotional regulation, and quality of life
• Why ADHD can be life-threatening
• Suicide risk, burnout, and drowning in unregulated thoughts
• The cost of denying support vs investing in people

A raw, emotional, and urgent conversation about assessment delays, systemic failure, and the very real human cost of treating neurodivergent care as optional.

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