Ford
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Ford, in his 70s, is a medical professional with a busy practice.
About 15 years ago, Ford told the Royal Commission his marriage broke down and he started seeing a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist diagnosed him with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and prescribed a central nervous stimulant. Ford started taking the drug but immediately experienced heart arrhythmia.
Ford went to another psychiatrist who confirmed he had ADHD and prescribed Ritalin. Ford took the medication every day. Initially it helped him enormously and ‘life became beautiful’. He said the drug ‘shut down the noise’. He was less impulsive, inattentive and fidgety. He no longer felt like he was trying to process everything at once. His ‘inability to read the subtext of a conversation’ and understand body language improved. He felt he could organise his thoughts and ‘put his thoughts down on paper’.
But after about six weeks, Ford was ‘on the floor’ and experiencing suicidal ideation.
He went to third psychiatrist who suggested he continue with the Ritalin but only use it when required.
Ford now manages his ADHD. While Ritalin is not a ‘cure’, he has learnt ‘to live with it’.
As a medical professional and a father to a child with ADHD, Ford is concerned doctors are overmedicating people. He said they rarely ask children ‘how is this medication working for you?’
In Ford’s experience, there are huge profits to be made in medicating people living with ADHD. He worries drug manufacturers are driving overmedication, giving ‘suggested doses’ higher than required.
Ford said it is difficult and expensive for people with ADHD to obtain an initial diagnosis from a psychiatrist. These services are not bulk-billed and people have to attend ongoing appointments to receive medication. He said it’s ‘extremely profitable’ for medical professionals. Meanwhile, a large percentage of the population can’t access treatment.
Ford is also critical of the education system. He feels many children and young people with ADHD are ‘lost’ by the ‘rigidity’ of the system. Children with ADHD are often mentally and socially isolated, put in ‘time out’ or ‘in the corner’. They are often disciplined for ‘not listening’ and told they are disobedient.
Teachers used to tell Ford he was ‘just lazy’ and to try harder. They smacked him often to ‘teach him a lesson’. ‘I eventually wagged school because I was caned every week for misbehaving.’ The teacher punished him for wagging by caning him.
Ford is also critical of examination and university entrance processes, saying they are full of ‘discrimination’ and ‘neglect’. Good candidates are overlooked because most universities or higher study programs consider exam results only. Generally, universities do not make reasonable adjustments for students who do not respond well to written examinations.
Ford believes students should have choice about how they will be examined, and computers should be permitted. Text to speech is a ‘godsend’ and should be used. Ford said multiple-choice questions are a form of discrimination and a ‘major problem’ for people with ADHD because of ‘impulsiveness’. ‘The examination has to change. It can’t just be written. Giving a person extra time is destructive.’
Ford believes the government should supply computers with speech-to-text software to every person diagnosed with ADHD. ‘We need to allow the tools for the brain to develop.’
Recently, Ford was attending an ADHD conference and found himself sitting next to a woman with a child. They started chatting and Ford explained he was attending as a medical professional, and as a person with ADHD.
‘She said “there’s hope for my kid yet, thank you.” But I felt like saying, “it’s a bloody hard road.”’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.