A New Brunswick couple who say they have been trying to have their son assessed for ADHD for years without success are calling for better access to these types of testing so that he can get the help he needs to succeed in school.
Grade 2 student Riley Holloran loves school, and while the 8-year-old enjoys reading, his report cards show he struggles with other subjects like math.
“He has a very hard time staying focused, staying still, regulating his emotions,” said his mother, Laura Murray, of Irishtown, N.B.
“He has outbursts, so he’s a little distracting to the class as well, which is difficult.”
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She says school officials flagged that he may have ADHD when he was in kindergarten.
But two years later, he still hasn’t had an assessment, which could give him access to resources to manage the diagnosis, including medication or additional classroom support.
Four years after moving to the province, the family still hasn’t been able to secure a local family doctor, which is complicating the process of receiving an assessment.
“We’ve spoken to our family doctor [in Nova Scotia], and we’ve had several referrals sent,” Murray said.
“Being that (the doctor) is in Nova Scotia and we’re in New Brunswick, it’s a game of ping pong. Nova Scotia referrals don’t’ get seen in New Brunswick, but when we go to Nova Scotia, they see his N.B. Medicare card and say he needs to be seen there.”
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