It was followed by several refinements as the prescription expanded due to changing diagnostic criteria (expanding to include a dual diagnosis with autism) and the need for best practice with the growing prescription by GPs.
These guidelines enhanced the consistency of approaches nationally and reduced the likelihood of misdiagnosis or overdiagnosis.
However, a recent Senate inquiry found diagnosis and drug treatment continued to grow substantially in the five years to 2022.
It emphasised the need for a more consistent approach to diagnosis and prescribing.
First the ingredients, then the recipe The most recent clinical guidelines, released by the Australasian ADHD Professionals Association in 2022, outlined a roadmap for ADHD clinical practice, research and policy.
They did so by drawing on the lived experience of those with ADHD.
They also emphasised broader health questions, such as how to respond to ADHD as a holistic condition.
It remains difficult to predict individual responses to different medication.
So the new prescribing guide offers practical advice about safe and responsible prescribing.
This aims to reduce the potential for incorrect prescribing, dosing and adjusting of ADHD medication, across different age groups, settings and individuals.
To put this visually, the clinical guidelines describe what the ingredients of the cake should be, while the prescribing guidelines provide step-by-step recipes.
So what do they recommend? An important principle in both these documents is that medication should not be the first and only treatment.
Not every drug works the same way for every child.
In some cases they do not work at all.
The possible side effects of medication vary and include poor appetite, sleep problems, headaches, stomach aches, moodiness and irritability.
These guidelines assist in adapting medication to reduce these side effects.
Medication provides an important window of opportunity for many young people to gain maximum value from psychosocial and psychoeducational supports.
