The NICE ADHD guidelines, explained simply

NICE ADHD refers to the official clinical guidelines set by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for recognizing, diagnosing, and managing ADHD in children, young people, and adults.

The primary guideline is NICE NG87, which acts as the "gold standard" and is the national standard governing how ADHD should be diagnosed and treated in the UK. Here's what it requires, minus the jargon.

Content reviewed by

Adrian Williams

ADHD Specialist Practitioner and Nurse Prescriber

NICE guidelines: what you need to know

Questionnaires and computer tests may support the assessment, but they cannot diagnose ADHD on their own

NICE does not approve or certify individual ADHD providers. A provider should be able to explain how its service follows NICE guideline NG87.

Ongoing checks to make sure your treatment is helping your ADHD symptoms and to address any issues

What NG87 requires for diagnosis

Diagnosis by either a Specialist Psychiatrist or an appropriately qualified GP or Nurse Practitioner with experience and training in diagnosing ADHD
Assessment must be thorough exploring current difficulties and how symptoms affect everyday life, childhood development, physical and mental health, previous health history
Symptoms must meet recognised diagnostic criteria, cause significant difficulties, and occur in at least two important parts of life, such as home, school, work or relationships
Questionnaires and computer tests may support the assessment, but they cannot diagnose ADHD on their own

What NG87 requires for treatment

You and your clinician should agree what is right for you, that can include:

Medication if diagnosed and is suitable and safe
Practical changes at home, university, or work
Education to help you understand yourself and live with your ADHD symptoms
Psychosocial and behavioural support
Ongoing checks to make sure your treatment is helping your ADHD symptoms and to address any issues
Once medication has been stabilised, your specialist may request a shared-care arrangement with your GP

How to check if a provider is NICE-compliant

NICE assessments will be comprehensive and tailored to you. Look for:

Appropriately qualified professionals with training and experience in ADHD diagnosis and treatment
A structured assessment exploring your current difficulties, childhood experiences, physical and mental health, and how symptoms affect different parts of your life
Information from someone who knows you well, where appropriate and with your agreement

Questionnaires or computer tests used to support a full assessment

A clear written outcome explaining the decision, the supporting evidence and what happens next, shared with you and your GP
Your involvement in decisions about support and treatment
Before medication starts, appropriate health checks such as height, weight, blood pressure, pulse and a heart-health assessment
Regular checks to make sure treatment is helping and any side effects are managed
A clear plan for prescriptions, follow-up appointments and annual medication reviews

NICE does not approve or certify individual ADHD providers. A provider should be able to explain how its service follows NICE guideline NG87.

How ADHD Simple meets NG87

ADHD Simple’s process for diagnosis and treatment is complaint with NG87. To begin you’ll be asked to:

Fill in a digital questionnaire so we can understand your health and symptoms
Ask two people who know you well to fill in a questionnaire, one who knew you before the age of 12 and one from adulthood

These questionnaire’s helps give your clinician a holistic view of your health, and behaviours prior to your assessment.

Our diagnosis is thorough

You’ll always see an appropriately qualified Nurse Practitioner or GP who will carry out assessment and treatment
We use recognised diagnosis criteria (DSM-5) along with validated rating scales and structured diagnostic tools
We will also check for other conditions that can look like or occur beside ADHD. These are called comorbidities. We find ADHD rarely occurs on it’s own.
Every diagnosis is confirmed by a psychiatrist and if your situation is more complex it will either be discussed by our clinical team or you’ll be booked in with a psychiatrist directly
Diagnostic appointments can be anywhere between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours long so there is time to understand your history and symptoms

Treatment is planned with you, not for you

If you’re diagnosed, we’ll talk through your options together. This will include medication and non-medication approaches, allowing you to decide what’s right for you
Before starting any medication, we check your physical health, including blood pressure, heart rate, weight, and heart health history to ensure medication is right for you
We start at a low dose and adjust it gradually, with regular check-ins, until we find what works best for you. Your blood pressure and heart rate are checked at every dose change
Once you are stable on medication, we can look after you long term on our ongoing care plan.
Once you’re settled on treatment, you’ll have a full review at least once a year
We will manage all prescriptions for you and you can contact us for a small fee when you would like to speak with a clinician

With your permission, we keep your GP informed at every step. Most patients prefer to stay with ADHD Simple vs. going to their GP for ongoing prescribing as we are a specialist clinic and focus solely on ADHD.