ADHD Aotearoa NZ

07/09/2026

IS THE WAY WE DIAGNOSE MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS STARTING TO CHANGE? 🧠

This is an interesting development that I think is worth sharing with our ADHD Aotearoa NZ community.

The DSM - the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — is one of the major manuals used internationally to classify and diagnose mental disorders, including ADHD.

Traditionally, diagnosis has largely depended on identifying patterns of symptoms, behaviours, experiences and how these affect a person's life.

But researchers involved in planning the future direction of the DSM are now considering how advances in biology, genetics, neuroscience and biomarkers might eventually contribute to our understanding of mental disorders.

That doesn't mean there is suddenly a blood test or brain scan that can diagnose ADHD.

There isn't.

The science is not yet at that point for most psychiatric conditions.

What makes this development interesting is the recognition that symptoms and behaviour may not always tell us the complete story about what is happening within a person.

Imagine a future where assessment can potentially consider more of the picture:

🧠 What symptoms are present?
🧬 What is happening biologically?
🏠 What is happening in the person's environment?
❤️ What has happened in their life?
👥 How are they functioning socially and in everyday life?

For people with ADHD and their whānau, developments like this are worth watching.

ADHD is already understood as a neurodevelopmental condition, but there is still much we don't understand about why people experience it differently, why symptoms vary so considerably and why approaches that help one person may not help another.

Science continues to evolve.

And perhaps the future of mental health won't simply be about identifying **what behaviour we can see**, but developing a better understanding of **what is happening within the whole person**.

ADHD Aotearoa NZ will continue following developments like this and sharing research that may help our community better understand ADHD, mental health and neurodevelopment.

05/09/2026

CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS SEVEN ARE ASKING FOR HELP. WE NEED TO ASK WHY.

This is one of those stories that should make all of us stop and think.

Youthline has reported record demand for its services, with children as young as seven now reaching out for help.

Over the past six months, an average of four young people every day have needed to be connected with emergency services because they were considered at immediate risk of harm.

A few years ago, that figure was closer to one a week.

For ADHD Aotearoa NZ, there is another question we believe needs to be part of this conversation:

What is happening in children's lives before they reach crisis point?

Not every distressed child has ADHD or another neurodevelopmental condition, and we should never assume that they do.

But we do need to become better at recognising what behaviour may be communicating.

A child struggling at school may not simply be "naughty".

A child constantly getting into trouble may be overwhelmed.

A child withdrawing may be struggling with something nobody can see.

A child experiencing bullying, family difficulties, learning challenges or neurodevelopmental differences may not have the words to explain what is happening to them.

And sometimes adults don't recognise the signs until the behaviour becomes impossible to ignore.

This is why prevention matters.

Parents, whānau, teachers, health professionals and community services all form part of the environment surrounding a child. We need to become better at recognising distress earlier and helping children understand and communicate what they are experiencing.

Seven years old is far too young for a child to feel that they have nowhere else to turn.

The fact that these children are reaching out is important and services such as Youthline need to be there when they do.

But our longer-term goal should also be to create environments in which more children receive help before they reach crisis.

📞 Youthline: 0800 376 633
💬 Free text: 234

03/09/2026

📢 **ADHD, MICRONUTRIENTS & ACCESS TO TREATMENT OPTIONS**

ADHD Aotearoa NZ has been contacted by a PhD researcher from **Te Puna Toiora | Mental Health and Nutrition Research Lab at the University of Canterbury** regarding an initiative looking at access to broad-spectrum micronutrients in New Zealand.

Te Puna Toiora conducts research into nutritional approaches to mental health, including the use of micronutrients for ADHD.

The research team has identified concerns around the **cost and regulatory barriers to accessing micronutrient supplements in New Zealand**, including that these supplements are not eligible for Pharmac funding.

They have created a short online form for people who would like to share their experiences or views with their local MP.

You do **not** need to have used micronutrients to take part. The initiative may also be relevant if you:

• have experience using micronutrients for ADHD
• would like the opportunity to try them
• have been affected by the cost or accessibility of these products
• support people having better access to evidence-based treatment options and informed choice.

🔗 **Micronutrient Access Form:**
https://te-puna-toiora.github.io/micronutrient-access/

This form is for New Zealanders who have experienced difficulties accessing micronutrient supplements, including people who have lost or had difficulty maintaining access to a supplement they previously used, people who would like to try a micronutrient supplement but have been unable to access it,....

29/08/2026

Understanding New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036

Part 10 – The Questions That Remain

Over this series, I've tried to explain New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036 in plain language.

There is a lot to be positive about.

The strategy aims to improve access, strengthen prevention and early intervention, grow the workforce, connect services more effectively and measure whether improvements are reaching different communities.

But a strategy provides direction.

Implementation determines what actually changes.

Over the coming years, some of the important questions will be:

How will workforce growth be sustained?

Will people experience better access regardless of where they live?

How will prevention translate into practical education and earlier support?

And will the people experiencing the greatest barriers actually see improvements?

The strategy includes monitoring and accountability arrangements to help answer those questions over time.

My purpose in sharing this series hasn't been to tell people what to think.

It has been to help make a complex government strategy easier to understand.

Thank you to everyone who has followed the series.

26/08/2026

Understanding New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036

Part 9 – This Strategy Doesn't Stand Alone

Something important became clearer as I looked beyond the Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036.

It is part of a wider group of national health strategies.

There are separate strategies addressing areas including Māori health, Pacific health, disabled people's health, women's health and rural health.

For example, the Māori health strategy contains its own priorities for Māori leadership, workforce, culturally safe care and accountability for Māori health outcomes.

This helps explain why reading one health strategy doesn't necessarily give us the complete picture.

Different strategies provide different areas of focus within the wider health system.

The Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy still identifies populations including Māori, Pacific peoples, disabled people and children and young people when discussing how progress will be measured.

Understanding how these strategies fit together can therefore be just as important as understanding one strategy on its own.

Next: My final reflections and the questions that remain.

24/08/2026

Understanding New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036

Part 8 – Final Reflections

Thank you to everyone who has followed this series exploring New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036.

My goal has been simple:

To help explain what the strategy says in plain language and encourage informed discussion.

Government strategies shape the future direction of our public services, and understanding them helps us all take part in conversations about the future of healthcare in New Zealand.

Thank you for reading, commenting and sharing your thoughts throughout this series.

22/08/2026

Understanding New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036

Part 7 – Measuring Success

A good strategy needs more than a vision.

It also needs a way of measuring whether it's actually making a difference.

One important part of New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 -2036 is that success won't only be measured at a national level.

The strategy recognises that national improvement doesn't necessarily mean every community or population group is experiencing the same improvement.

Progress will also be looked at by ethnicity, age and district, and separately across mental health and addiction services.

Specific measures will also be developed for:

• Māori
• Pacific peoples
• disabled people
• children and young people
• and other populations experiencing poorer outcomes.

This is important because an improvement in national figures doesn't necessarily tell us whether everyone is benefiting.

Over the next ten years, the question won't just be:

"Is the system improving?"

It will also be:

"Who is it improving for, and where are the gaps still remaining?"

Next: I'll look at prevention and early intervention and what the strategy says this could mean in practice.

19/08/2026

Understanding New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036

Part 6 – What Does "No Wrong Door" Mean?

One of the interesting ideas in New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy is something called "No Wrong Door."

What does that mean?

It means the Government wants people to find it easier to access the right support, regardless of where they first ask for help.

Instead of feeling like they've gone to the "wrong" place, the goal is for services to work together and connect people with the support they need.

It's an ambitious goal and one that many people would welcome.

Making services easier to navigate can be just as important as improving the services themselves.

In my next post, I'll explore how the Government plans to measure whether this strategy is actually making a difference.

17/08/2026

Understanding New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036

Part 5 – Building the Workforce

One of the biggest goals in New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy is to strengthen the mental health and addiction workforce.

The strategy includes plans to:

✅ train more practitioners,
✅ strengthen the workforce,
✅ improve recruitment and retention,
✅ and build the skills needed to meet future demand.

These are important goals.

But building a workforce isn't something that happens overnight.

It takes education, training, supervision and experienced professionals who can guide and support new practitioners entering the workforce.

The strategy provides the vision.

The implementation plan will show how those ambitions are intended to become reality.

In my next post I'll explain what the strategy means by a "No Wrong Door" approach and why it's an important part of improving access to services.

15/08/2026

Understanding New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2026 - 2036

Part 4 – Turning Vision into Reality

A strategy tells us where we want to go.

It doesn't tell us every step needed to get there.

That's the role of implementation.

New Zealand's Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy sets an ambitious vision for improving mental health and addiction services over the next ten years.

The next challenge is turning that vision into reality.

That means planning, investment, workforce development and measuring progress over time.

A strategy starts the journey.

Implementation is what makes change happen.

In my next post, I'll be looking at one of the biggest parts of that journey – building the workforce needed to deliver these improvements.