ADHD report is ‘blueprint for change’

Neurodivergent social workers welcome new recommendations
report files

The government must provide training to ensure social workers and other professionals are able to identify and support people with ADHD.

That’s the message from the final report of a taskforce commissioned by NHS England to assess the impact and cost of ADHD and how to respond to it.

In its first report in April, the taskforce highlighted the higher risk to people with ADHD of educational failure or being not in employment, education or training (NEET), mental health problems, self-harm, suicide, substance misuse, obesity, poor health and premature death.

A higher likelihood of ADHD people being exploited, including criminally and sexually, was also noted. The taskforce estimated the overall cost of not treating ADHD to be £17 billion, including in lost tax and increased spending on benefits, health, social care and criminal justice.

The second part of the report published last month (November 2025) calls for: 

  • Early support and training of professionals
  • Universal and targeted school-based programmes based on needs not diagnosis
  • A one-stop shop for neurodivergent young people and integrated youth services
  • Support for people on ADHD assessment waiting lists, with some fast tracked
  • Core competency in ADHD training for professionals
  • National standards for supporting ADHD
  • Removing barriers preventing pupils with ADHD from thriving in schools
  • Recognition and support for people with ADHD within the criminal justice system

The report says: “Mental health professionals across all disciplines, including wellbeing practitioners and social workers, require core competencies in recognising and supporting ADHD.”

It adds: “Government departments need to consider delivery of training on ADHD and neurodivergence to sectors and organisations that engage with people with ADHD.

“The aims should be to recognise ADHD/neurodivergence early; identify systems and processes that act as barriers rather than enablers and increase risks of worse ADHD outcomes and impacts…”

An estimated 2.5 million people in England have ADHD, between three and four per cent of the adult population and five per cent of children.

At the end of June, there were 491,470 referrals for a potential ADHD diagnosis. Around two-thirds of people have been on an assessment waiting list for more than a year.

Part two of the report includes comments from people with lived experience of ADHD.

One contributor said: “Getting it wrong in those early years can lead to so many secondary issues that shouldn’t have to be part of ADHD.

“Is it only the ADHD which is causing people so many problems, or the years of compounding trauma and exclusion?”

A parent of a child with ADHD said the hardest part was “fighting” the system to get support: “So much money, time, emotional resource goes into trying to get effective support for your child when you are already emotionally and financially incredibly vulnerable.”

Scott Richardson, chair of BASW’s Neurodivergent Social Workers Special Interest Group, described the report as a “blueprint for change”.

“For those of us who are neurodivergent and work within social care, its recommendations resonate deeply with our lived experience and professional values.”

Highlighting his own lived experience as a social worker with ADHD, he said: “One tangible example of how neurodivergence intersects with workplace norms is communication style. 

“Personally, I tend to write emails that are concise and to the point – partly due to workload pressures and partly because that’s my natural style. 

“While intended for clarity and efficiency, I’ve learned that brevity can sometimes be misinterpreted as abruptness or even rudeness. I’ve experienced situations where a short, factual email was perceived as dismissive, despite no such intention. To address this, I now include a note explaining that concise communication is about clarity, not tone.”

Scott said neurodivergent people “disproportionately” experience disciplinary procedures due to differences in communication, behaviour or working style.

“Misinterpretations of tone, perceived lack of ‘soft skills’, or deviating from unwritten social norms can all lead to formal processes that feel punitive rather than supportive.”

BASW's Neurodivergent Social Workers Special Interest Group meets online on the last Tuesday of every month. For more information contact policyadmin@basw.co.uk