King’s Maudsley Partnership welcomes the ADHD Taskforce final report

We welcome the publication of the ADHD Taskforce’s final report—a landmark step toward improving support for individuals with ADHD across the UK. The report rightly emphasises early intervention, whole-school approaches, better training for health professionals, and digital innovation as ways to improve care for those living with ADHD. These priorities align closely with much of the work of King’s Maudsley Partnership for Children and Young People.

We are proud that work that has taken place across the Partnership has contributed to the evidence base underpinning the report and are actively working already on many of its recommendations. Work cited in the report included Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke’s work evaluating the New Forest Parenting Programme, a parent-led intervention for children with ADHD. As well as Dr Nicoletta Adamo’s meta-analysis into the efficacy and tolerability of medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, adolescents, and adults.

The King’s Maudsley Partnership is home to the world’s largest group of academics and clinicians focused on ADHD in children and young people. We are working to understand ADHD better, but also to co-design more and better treatment options for children and young people with ADHD.

Work is already underway or planned that will drive many of the Taskforce’s recommendations forward:

1.Early Intervention

The report highlights the importance of early intervention. Our Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities (EPEC) programme complements school-based approaches by supporting school readiness through reaching families before formal schooling begins. EPEC has developed neurodivergence-specific modules, including for children with ADHD, having reflected on the need for early support. We now need rigorous evaluation of these interventions to understand the potential for wider scale application.

2.Whole-School Approach

We welcome the Taskforce’s recommendations to both move towards a whole school approach and to move away from requiring a diagnosis to access interventions. This would create more inclusive environments and remove the unnecessary delays to support.  The Regulating Emotions – Strengthening Adolescent Resilience (RE-STAR) programme, led by Professor Edmund Songa-Barke exemplifies this. RE-STAR is working to create school environments which are inclusive for children with ADHD and autism. The study is aiming to improving the experiences of children with ADHD and autism in school and reduce their chance of experiencing depression.

Through the Schools Mental Health Innovation Network we are also looking to develop teaching resources for schools in south London to learn about brain health and contribute to creating neuro-affirmative and de-stigmatising school environments.

3.Assessment and Treatment Innovation

We’re rethinking how assessment and treatment can work for every child and young person with ADHD. We’re focusing on three key areas, which reflect recommendations within the taskforce. First, we’re expanding training for professionals who support this group, offering webinars and plan a new on-line course focused on neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD.   At the same time, our CAMHS Digital Lab is leading digital transformation – exploring how digital tech and AI can support diagnosis and treatment monitoring. We’re also committed to improving access for those waiting for care and are conducting trials into digital support for young people on waiting lists. We’re also beginning a new study to investigate if we can combine online cognitive data with reports of ADHD symptoms to predict who is most likely to receive a clinical diagnosis of ADHD. These initiatives reflect our commitment to using technology and research to deliver timely, effective care.

This report is a milestone for ADHD care, responding to the clinical realities of today.   At King’s Maudsley Partners, we equally focus on transforming care for the future.  We have listened to those living with ADHD who ask for new effective, safe non-drug treatment options.  We will build this next generation of treatments on science, by unravelling the differences in the genetic code, the brain and thinking that underpin ADHD and using these features as the foundation for innovative new ways of helping.

We will continue to lead research, innovation, and collaboration to make its vision a reality—improving outcomes for children, families, and communities.

If you want to keep up to date with our work on ADHD please sign up to our newsletter. Or emails us at helen.honstvet@slam.nhs.uk for any more information about our work in this area.