A study conducted by Career Connect has found a high level of likelihood of ADHD among young people that the charity supports into education, employment and training.
Of the 100 young people that took part in a recent pilot study by the charity, 88 were found to either have an existing ADHD diagnosis or were identified by a screening tool as ADHD being highly likely or possible. All participants were aged 16-24 and not in employment, education or training (NEET).
Careers Adviser Jenny Booth led the pilot, where young people receiving careers support from the charity were given the option to use a validated ADHD screening tool.
Jenny’s study is part of Career Connect’s Practitioner Research Programme and was inspired by Jenny’s own personal and professional experiences of ADHD.
Jenny won a Career Connect staff award for promoting inclusion through her research.
Jenny said:
“ADHD is within my family, and I had started doing my own reading and research around the subject.
“As I started to learn more, I quickly realised that there are a lot of preconceptions about what ADHD looks like, and how it impacts on young people’s lives.
“In my day-to-day role, I also work with a number of young people who do have an ADHD diagnosis. As I learned more about ADHD, I started to recognise what I thought could be ADHD traits in some of the young people I was working with, but who haven’t been diagnosed as having ADHD.
“Related conditions can also include anxiety and depression. So, you may see anxiety when what underlies this is ADHD. I’m interested in those who are undiagnosed, particularly young women who may present with anxiety.
“Wider research tells us that if you have been diagnosed with ADHD as a child or in adolescence, there is an increased risk of not being in education, employment or training as an adult. That should not be the case.”
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates the global prevalence of ADHD in children to be around 5%, and in adults in the UK at 3% – 4%.
However, the latest update from the NHS Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Programme states that current data available to NHS England is “likely to significantly underrepresent the number of people seeking, waiting for and with a diagnosis of ADHD”. See: NHS England » Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Programme update
The study
The research used a validated screening tool to identify the number and proportion of young people (aged 16-24) using one of Career Connect’s local careers guidance services in the Northwest, that screened positive for possible and probable ADHD.
The tool Jenny used is based on one used by the organisation Psych Central but it has been adjusted for young people. The original tool was also used successfully by ADHD charity founder and author Sarah Templeton, in her research into the likelihood of ADHD amongst the prison population.
The screening tool does not provide a clinical diagnosis but is a useful tool to indicate likelihood of an ADHD condition.
Participants in the study were between 16-24 years of age and, at the time of the study, all were being supported into employment, education or training by Career Connect.
The screening tool consists of 18 questions that are scored 0-3:
0 = Never
1 = Rarely
2 = Sometimes
3 = Often
In total, scores range from 0-54 and are used to categorise the likelihood of ADHD in the respondent.
– scores above 40+ ADHD Highly likely
– scores between 20-39 ADHD Possible
– scores between 0-19 ADHD Unlikely
Additionally, a further set of questions relating to service experience and preferences were asked to 15 young people who screened as being highly likely to have ADHD.
Results
The pilot found a high prevalence of ADHD traits, both diagnosed and undiagnosed among young people that are NEET and using our services.
This is far higher prevalence than previous community level estimates (between 5%-10%) for young people.
Girls are substantially more likely than boys to screen for a high likelihood of ADHD and be undiagnosed.
Young people who are highly likely to have ADHD conditions are very likely to have anxiety about careers appointments and prefer shorter meetings in a private space, with informal arrangements. They are also likely to require reminders about appointment times.
Next steps
Career Connect will take a number of actions on the basis of this research.
In the immediate term, Career Connect commits to:
Gary Mundy, Director of Impact and Research at Career Connect said:
“This research project, identified and carried out by Jenny, a member of our frontline staff, has the potential to make a significant difference to young people with diagnosed or suspected ADHD. The insights we have gained will inform and shape how we deliver our services.
“By extending opportunities for screening, we hope to help more young people understand ADHD better, and what up to now may have been a barrier to them achieving their goals.
“While not a clinical diagnosis, having the knowledge that ADHD could be possible or likely, enables young people to take positive action and hopefully achieve improved education, employment and training outcomes – while we can ensure that our services meet their needs.
“At Career Connect, we encourage and assist our practitioners to design and deliver research that produces evidence to support new approaches and practice, and we hope that this research will make a difference.”
