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Changes to ADHD care under consideration by health officials are long overdue,and will benefit a growing number of adults being diagnosed with the condition, according to the not-for-profit advocacy organisation ADHD NZ.
One-in-20 New Zealand adults live with ADHD - also known as Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. Overall, 30 thousand New Zealanders are on Ritalin or other similar drugs.
A diagnosis and the prescribing of ritalin and other ADHD drugs can only be made by a psychiatrist.
ADHD New Zealand's chair Darrin Bull says this makes it difficult and prohibitively expensive for many, but there are changes on the way to how drugs can be prescribed.
Kathryn also talks with Auckland mother-of-two Megan Hutchison who was diagnosed with ADHD in July.
Photo: RNZ/Vinay Ranchhod