Plan the move to adult ADHD care
An early handover plan can clarify who will provide treatment and support as your child becomes an adult.
Guideline advice, not formally gradedADHD evidence
Start with the time you have
1 minute
Write down the handover detail you most need someone to clear up.
5 minutes
Write a message asking the current team what the transition plan is.
15 minutes
List current treatments, monitoring and support to go through at the handover meeting.
A plan
Prepare a connected handover
- Raise transition planning with the current team.
- Include the young person's goals and prepare the care summary.
- Confirm the receiving service and ongoing responsibilities.
How sure the science is
Guideline advice, not formally graded, ADHD evidence
Recommended by ADHD clinical guidelines, but nobody has pooled the trials and graded how sure they are. Guideline advice is a considered judgement, not a measured certainty. Measured in people with ADHD.
AAP 2019 transition guidance (narrative text, not a key action statement) and NICE NG87 1.1.4 to 1.1.6; no GRADE effect rating.
The number, drawn
Why it matters
ADHD needs often continue beyond childhood even when the symptoms change. The AAP recommends introducing transition planning around age 14 and focusing on it as school completion approaches, and NICE recommends reassessment at school-leaving age with a planned handover to adult services. This is a continuity-of-care recommendation, not evidence for a measured symptom reduction from a handover checklist.
How to do it
- Ask the current team when transition planning should start and which adult service might take over.
- Include what the young person wants, their preferences, and how involved they want the family to be.
- Request a written summary of the assessment, current treatment, the support that helps and the monitoring needed.
- Confirm the receiving service, where the referral stands, and who stays responsible until the handover happens.
Referral rules and ages differ by service and country. Confirm with the clinical teams who carries on prescribing and monitoring.
Putting it into practice
In real life
- Ask for the adult service's name and whether it has accepted the referral.
- Ask the young person which parts of family involvement they want to keep.
Watch out for
- Common mistakeA referral does not necessarily mean the handover is done. Ask who owns the care plan right now.
- Common mistakeIf planning starts only after child care ends, nobody may know who is responsible. Raise the transition early.
Trusted guides
How we rated it
- Evidence grade
- A Moderate or high certainty evidence in people with ADHD, or an explicit ADHD guideline recommendation.
- The number
- Introduce transition planning at about age 14 (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019)
- Benefit
- 71/100 The benefit score is an editorial prioritization for the general list, weighted by certainty. It is not a prediction of what will happen for you.
- Effort
- Some effort
Sources
- Tier 1 guidelineClinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of ADHD in Children and AdolescentsAmerican Academy of Pediatrics, 2019
- Tier 1 guidelineADHD in adultsNHS, 2025
- Tier 1 guidelineADHD in children and young peopleNHS, 2025
- Tier 1 guidelineAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management (NG87), recommendationsNICE, 2019
General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you. Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.