GMSP | Paying attention to ADHD

Paying attention to ADHD

Posted on: Thursday, May 28th, 2026

Do you think ADHD assessments should be made more accessible to students?

ADHD support in universities

The university mental health support network in Greater Manchester can be confusing, even if you are in the system yourself.

All the five universities have their own counselling services. However, if the student is assessed as having greater needs than the counselling service can handle then they are referred to the Greater Manchester Universities Mental Health Service which is better equipped to handle complex needs. Students are a unique group, often away from home for the first time and away from their usual support system. This is why a service like this is so essential, making mental health support accessible with shorter wait times than in the usual NHS system.

Similarly, the university’s counselling service then provides a step-down service; allowing students to transition out of the mental health service without a sharp loss of support.

It is a great example of what collaboration between the universities in Greater Manchester can achieve, exactly the kind of thing the GMSP is set up to facilitate.

Possible improvements for ADHD support

The GMSP has three main suggestions:

Recognise ADHD separately from other learning difficulties so student needs can be better understood and supported.

Greater Manchester universities should supply extra funding to the Universities Mental Health Service for ADHD assessments.

Targeted programmes of training for university support staff, including: psychoeducation, how to screen for ADHD, and how to support students with ADHD.

Despite the success of the system, it is not a fixed solution and should continue to evolve with the changing needs of students. One change that the GMSP is campaigning for is the current pathway for ADHD assessments. Currently, ADHD is classed by most educational institutions as a specialist learning difficulty. This lumps it in the same category as dyslexia and dyspraxia, despite clear differences (Sedgwick-Muller et al. 2022.). This means that there is little data on ADHD, as well as a lack of separate resources. So, the GMSP is proposing that ADHD be classified separately.

Building on this, the Greater Manchester Universities Mental Health Service does not have a specific assessment pathway for ADHD. This means that a student seeking an ADHD assessment has to go through the mainstream NHS route, which currently has a waiting list of 25,000 in Manchester alone, with waiting times of up to seven years. The GMSP is suggesting that each university contributes additional funding to the Greater Manchester Universities Mental Health Service so it can include provision for ADHD assessment and treatment. The belief is that this would ultimately save the university money in the form of fees from students who would have otherwise dropped out if it was not for the support of the service.

Similarly, the GMSP believes that students would benefit from targeted programmes of training for university support staff, including psychoeducation, how to screen for ADHD, and how to support students with ADHD. This would provide the right support for students with ADHD and improve signposting of where to access resources if needed.

University students are in a crucial moment in their lives where the right support can be the difference between them graduating and dropping out which is why it is so essential we do right by students and make Greater Manchester the most welcoming place for students.

If you want to get in contact with your university in Greater Manchester for mental health support, these are the best places to start:

University of Manchester, Crawford House, 5th floor

Tel number for referrals: 0161 275 2864

Email for referrals: counselling.service@manchester.ac.uk

Website information: https://www.counsellingservice.manchester.ac.uk/

Manchester Metropolitan University, Business School (currently in temporary space)

Tel number for referrals: 0161 247 3493

Email: counselling@mmu.ac.uk

Website information: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/student-life/wellbeing/counselling-and-mental-health

University of Salford Counselling and Wellbeing Service, University House, Salford Crescent

Tel number for referrals: 0161 295 0023

Email: wellbeing@salford.ac.uk