No, not everyone has ADHD 🧠
Plus: A review on subtitle glasses and wise kōrero from Dr Hu ✨
Nau mai ki Rāmenemene 😊 Happy Friday!
In this week’s delicious edition:
GPs and nurse practitioners will be able to prescribe ADHD meds 💊🧑⚕️
What does the world look like with subtitle glasses? 🔍
Accessible shows coming up in Tāmaki Makaurau 👥
This morning we arrived to our community hub in Tāmaki with a bit of a leaky situation, but nothing that a heater and some towels can’t fix! We’re thinking of all of you - especially down South, in the Waikato and around Auckland - impacted by the weather today. Take care out there!
Now for the news of the week that’s got every undiagnosed neurospicy adult wondering 🌶️ On Tuesday, Medsafe and Pharmac announced that GPs and nurse practitioners will be able to diagnose and treat ADHD for adults from February 2026. Under the current system, access to diagnosis and treatment is mostly limited to those who can afford to see a private psychiatrist. Widening prescribing authority to primary care, means that those who currently can’t afford a diagnosis or treatment, may soon be able to.
Immediately, there are reactions. Does this give people more chance to abuse medication? Will this lead us down a culture where we problematise ADHD traits? How will GP’s and nurse practitioners know what they’re doing by February? Cue moral panic of youngsters all taking drugs for no good reason.
While the change means more equitable access to an underserved condition in Aotearoa, there are some immediate public health questions which The Spinoff explores in this article.
Ben Beaglehole, who led recent research into the ADHD treatment gap, said that while the changes would give more people access to life-changing treatment, they were “likely to cause inadvertent harm through less thorough assessments, poorly targeted treatment, and greater community misuse of stimulants”.
Meanwhile, medical director Luke Bradford told The NZ Herald: “It’s not going to be, ‘I’m going to the doctor about my sore knee, and by the way, I always thought I’m not very good at concentrating. Do you think I’ve got ADHD? Can I have some Ritalin?’ That’s not what is going to happen.”
Mental health nurse practitioner Anna Elders echoed this, telling the Science Media Centre: “I think there’s going to be some misconceptions that GPs and nurse practitioners can diagnose within a 15- or a 30-minute consult, and that’s not accurate… There are really firm guidelines from the working group, the ministry, and all of the colleges around what a really good, comprehensive assessment will look like. GPs are going to have to identify that they want to develop special skills and knowledge and undertake training in working with ADHD, just like they would if they developed a specialism in skin cancer, for example.”
And while we’re on the topic - we enjoyed this cheeky resource that explains the difference between having symptoms as a neurotypical person versus experiencing those symptoms at a different intensity, frequency and with greater impact.
Unfortunately, none of us are Dolly Doctors at the D*List. But we can reach out to doctors and specialists with your pātai. If you have any thoughts, questions or concerns on this change, we’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment or reply to this in an email. ⬇️
🚩 Whaikaha warns that the Regulatory Standards Bill proposal risks breaching New Zealand’s obligations to the UNCRPD and could shut disabled people out of decisions that affect them, The Post reports. It also warned that “the bill’s focus on protecting liberties like personal security and property rights could clash with existing human rights protections.” Public submissions to the bill closed earlier this week.
🏋️♂️ Adaptive Whakauru Tahi, a fitness programme for disabled folks in Hawke’s Bay, is a finalist in the 2025 New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards for the second year in a row. It’s recognised in the Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion category alongside Paralympics New Zealand and Buttabean Motivation.
👓 Kimberly Coates reviews new subtitle glasses. Could this technology be worth its NZ$2568 price tag? Maybe if they’re funded…
“Not having to explain I’m deaf to the person behind the counter at a store for the first time also felt strange. The transaction was quick and they didn’t even notice I was screen-reading the lens. It felt almost sneaky for someone who is used to having to explain they’re unable to hear and then there are always those awkward ‘oh you don’t look deaf’ conversations that really ruin your day.”
🪱 Representation is important and not just for representation’s sake. What does this look like in books? Lucy Croft writes about the disabled-authored books she’s read which feature characters who are disabled.
“Whenever I read a novel featuring a well-developed disabled character, written by a disabled person, I feel as though a hand is stretching through the page, saying we are here.”
🎧 🌺 🎞️ Join the Whau Pasifika 2025 PolyFilm Marathon for two audio-described films by Miki Magasiva: Rites of Courage and Tinā. This free event will be next Friday 4 July from 11.30am at the iconic Hollywood Avondale in Tāmaki Makaurau. To book, please call Nicola Owen on 0210358513 or email her at scheduling@audiodescribedaotearoa.co.nz
🪵 🐭 🎵The Bruce Mason Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau is putting on a musical adaptation of the classic award-winning picture book The Gruffalo. Between 10-12 July, there is an NZSL performance, an audio-described performance and a relaxed performance. Booking details are under the FAQs here.
🧑💻 Register for a Zoom webinar on Tuesday 1 July 1.30-3pm hosted by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata, the Human Rights Commission. Join the Disability Rights Commissioner, Prudence Walker, and the family violence, sexual violence and disability sectors for a conversation about inclusive and accessible violence prevention and response. There will be NZSL and live captioning.
✨ We love these words of wisdom about looking ahead from Dr Huhana Hickey in the Mānawatia a Matariki video series: “I want us to be seen as a taonga today… advocating but also being allowed a voice.”
Hei tērā wiki, until next week! ⭐️
Eda
