This presentation will share results from two nationwide surveys to compare key findings about interdisciplinary ADHD assessment and related treatment practices with lived experiences of adults who were diagnosed with ADHD in Australia. We will compare clinical practices across disciplines and review recommendations by both clinicians and the community for improvements. We will also compare the traits and symptoms that clinicians reported as relevant for ADHD assessment with descriptions of what ADHD feels like from adults living with the condition.

Prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and medication use has increased internationally over the past 25 years (Cortese et al., 2023; Rzeszutek & Wolanczyk, 2025, respectively). Reflection on clinical practices in this area and how our clinical views about ADHD may differ from those in the ADHD community is particularly relevant in Australia today given the expansion of ADHD assessment and medication initiation into more primary care practice and more than two-fold increase in ADHD medication use post-pandemic (Woon et al., 2025).

There were 199 responses to the clinician survey with a mix of psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, general practitioners, pediatricians, counsellors, and ADHD coaches. Data was collected in 2024 and shows significant variability in practices across disciplines. Across all disciplines, there were lower levels of confidence assessing adults compared to children, and higher levels of self-confidence in ADHD assessment compared to confidence in the ability of others.

Currently, data is still being collected for the survey on lived experiences. Collection began in late 2024 and continues, aiming to capture more than 100 voices and investigate potential shifts in recommendations for improvements following the introduction of more pathways to assessment and treatment in the primary care system.

In this presentation, we will: see a snapshot of real-life clinical practices related to ADHD assessment and treatment across disciplines; reflect on the impact of these practices on the clients receiving them; consider the recommendations from both groups; discuss any inconsistencies between clinician and client views; and examine the extent to which we share a common understanding of adult ADHD and what we might do to advance this.

It is hoped that this presentation will encourage attendees to reflect on their own approaches to ADHD assessment and treatment of associated concerns, as well as to engage in collegial discussions of what we believe adult ADHD to be, and how our beliefs might support or invalidate views held by the community that lives with this condition.

Autism and psychotic spectrum conditions are challenging to identify when they occur alone. Identification is further complicated by the fact that these conditions frequently co-occur, overlap between features and differences in communication. Such examples include:

• Core autistic experiences such as anomalous perceptual experiences or sensory hypersensitivity can be misidentified as hallucinations.
• Differences in social communication, such as reduced non-verbal expression can be misinterpreted as blunted affect.
• Differences in the use of language that can be misidentified as thought disorder.
• Impacts of negative or cognitive symptoms (including social cognition) in psychotic spectrum illnesses that can be mistaken for Autistic features.
• Autistic anxiety from confusion around social rules can be misinterpreted as paranoia.

Participants will walk away from this presentation with a neuroaffirming framework to support correct identification allowing them to plan evidence-based and values-driven supports. We will present clear assessment options and describe how these can be used. This will include practical tips to use developmental history to establish symptom/ feature onset. We will also describe benefits of interview-based psychosis measures over self-report measures. We will finish by discussing tips to tailor interventions that move beyond a deficit-only model drawing upon psychotherapeutic approaches for psychotic experiences and the diametric model. This will help participants leverage neurodivergent behaviours as a strength that can be incorporated into interventions to maximise quality of life.