Dr Blandine French is a lived-experience senior research fellow at the University of Nottingham, specialising in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
NDLAB brings Blandine’s research together in one place to help GPs and healthcare practitioners better understand neurodiversity, and in particular ADHD.
Having received her own ADHD diagnosis in 2010, Blandine’s research focuses on equipping GPs and other healthcare practitioners with the right knowledge and tools to identify ADHD, improve access to care and drive better outcomes.
GPs often act as gatekeepers for access to specialist ADHD services where patients can access diagnosis and treatments. But studies have shown that GPs regularly struggle to recognise ADHD.
Our research sought to understand why this is, and highlighted an overall lack of knowledge, training, resources and services to support GPs in their practice. Misconceptions, stigmas and difficult communication between stakeholders further compound the problem.
Having identified a clear need for better training, we worked with GPs to co-develop and test a comprehensive online ADHD training course, based on what they told us they needed.
Our free-to-access, 60-minute online ADHD training has since been accredited by the RCGP, and over 8,000 healthcare professionals have taken part.
- 92% said they would recommend the training and that the training is likely to impact their practice.
- 98% of GPs said their knowledge and confidence had improved after taking part in the training.
We are confident that our GP training will lead to more adults and children receiving a correct diagnosis, better access to care and better outcomes.
Read more and access the free ADHD training for GPs and healthcare practitioners here.
In the UK, it’s currently estimated that over 2.5 million neurodiverse adults have not received a diagnosis, and therefore struggle to access support. This comes at a cost to them, and to society.
‘Recount’ is an ongoing research project led by Dr Blandine French. Its aim is to identify the individual, economic and social costs of leaving the two most common neurodevelopmental disorders – autism (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – undiagnosed (and therefore untreated and unsupported) in the UK.
We know that early intervention and diagnosis are of utmost importance in reducing some of the long-term risks and impairments that people living with these conditions experience.
Our project aims to answer two questions:
- 1
How much does the lack of diagnosis cost individuals, the community, and the economy?
- 2
What are the long-term risks and impacts (e.g., higher rate of divorce, substance abuse, unemployment) associated with undiagnosed ASD/ADHD?
The results will provide evidence that will help policy makers and service providers to improve access to diagnosis and subsequent support.
This will improve quality of life for affected groups, reduce long-term risks and impacts and also reduce the cost to individuals, the community and the economy.
NNN was started by Dr Blandine French, along with Dr Maddie Groom, with funding support from the University of Nottingham.
It brings together a multitude of experts in healthcare, commissioning, service design/delivery, research and lived experience to address challenges, share best practice and find potential solutions to designing effective care pathways for neurodevelopmental conditions.
Through events, workshops and regular network updates, this work aims to change the shape of services for people living with neurodevelopmental conditions across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.