SINGAPORE – Those with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are eligible for financial and other kinds of support as the Government continues to raise awareness of neuro-developmental conditions and their impact on individuals and families.
There is a range of support available for those living with ADHD, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary on Feb 16 in Parliament.
Children aged six years old and below are eligible to receive subsidised consultations and therapy of up to 70 per cent under the Child Development Programme (CDP) in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) and National University Hospital (NUH), if they are referred from polyclinics or Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas) general practitioner (GP) clinics.
School-going children aged seven years old and above can access school-based interventions at no charge, in consultation with the Response, Early Intervention and Assessment in Community Mental Health (Reach) teams where necessary, Dr Janil added.
Cases that need further medical attention will be referred by Reach to the Child Guidance Clinic (CGC), which offers subsidised consultations and therapy of up to 70 per cent.
Eligible patients referred to specialist outpatient clinics from polyclinics or Chas GP clinics can receive means-tested subsidies of up to 70 per cent.
Singaporeans with difficulties paying their bills can approach medical social workers for financial assistance, such as MediFund, Dr Janil added.
He was responding to questions from Mr Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC).
NUH defines ADHD as a “neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by deficits in attention, concentration, activity level and impulse control”. ADHD cannot be “outgrown” but children with ADHD can adjust well to school and adult life if they receive early interventions, said its website.
Treatments include group work and therapy; pharmacological treatment; and psychosocial interventions, which could comprise classroom behaviour management and parent training programmes.
Mr Giam also asked how many people in Singapore are diagnosed with ADHD and what the median age of this group is.
There is no data available because reporting of ADHD is not required. Studies have estimated that the prevalence of ADHD worldwide to range between five and eight per cent among children and adolescents, and among adults to range between two and seven per cent, Dr Janil said.
ADHD is among a number of neuro-developmental conditions that may manifest as an educational or a neuro-developmental challenge, he said. A health professional is trained to look out, for example, if the child is reaching appropriate developmental milestones.
Parents are supported by healthcare workers and teachers in the neuro-developmental progress of their children, Dr Janil added in response to follow-up questions by Mr Giam on whether the Ministry of Health (MOH) provides training or funding to parents or teachers to identify symptoms of ADHD and provide guidance to parents on how to seek professional help and financial support.
Children who suffer from ADHD can be inattentive, impulsive, hyperactive or distracted, and are typically diagnosed during the lower primary years, said Dr Lim Choon Guan, senior consultant and deputy chief at the Department of Developmental Psychiatry at the Institute of Mental Health.
In an ST podcast in January 2024, the founder of Unlocking ADHD, an online support community, said the traits of ADHD are common and not exclusive to those with ADHD.
Ms Moonlake Lee said: “Where it crosses the clinical line where it becomes a clinical condition is the extent of impairment in one’s life and how long it has been present.”
Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) asked if MOH will consider working closely with non-profit organisations that are experts in ADHD to study further how public education on ADHD can be promoted.
Agreeing with the suggestion, Dr Janil said: “We will continue to explore how we can raise the awareness of not just ADHD, but a wide range of neuro-developmental conditions so that we can detect them earlier, but also provide the right type of support to the families that are dealing with these challenges.”
