I’m pleased to accept referrals from family physicians, paediatricians, psychologists, social workers and behavioural health consultants.

A letter to my office is helpful and ensures that I will write back to you with my opinion.

An email is ok though you may not want to put much detail in it, enough to reach out to the patient to book an appointment and for some idea of why they are seeing me.

My usual routine is to assess the patient over one or more one hour visits, then if the diagnosis is confirmed, start treatment if the patient is interested. I then follow the patient for 6-12 months till we have the right medication(s) at the right doses and duration. At that point I suggest the patient may want to discuss with their family doctor about being followed by them.

We don’t ever close a patient’s file so they can come back at any point but if things are stable, we strongly encourage the patient to return to the referring doctor. Your cooperation in prescribing is appreciated. This can be prescribing enough pills so the patient isn’t constantly running out (after all they are adhd). It can be using doses you haven’t perhaps used before – and I’m happy to discuss this with you at any time. An email to set up a time to talk works best and I’m happy to get a call at home or in the evening.

If the family doctor would rather manage medication themselves from the beginning, then simply indicate this on the referral letter ‘assessment only’.

If the doctor wants to manage medication but doesn’t specify ‘assessment only’ then I’ll usually start a prescription, with instructions on how to adjust the medication if needed in the first two weeks till they can get in to the family doctor.

If you are writing to refer to me and have any screening questionnaires, or previous psychoeducational reports, I’d be glad to see them.

I am interested in your opinion – are you seeing symptoms of ADHD? Does anyone else in the family have ADHD? Is there a history of addiction, or family history of mental health problems? Even something as simple as your brief observation about them being on time or missing appointments or being hard on staff or not following instructions, or not seeing these symptoms is useful.

If you’re in a rush (and I was a family doctor too remember) a quick note – please see for possible ADHD will get the ball rolling.