ADHD Aotearoa

11/11/2025

We Can Do Both.

We can reduce addiction.
We can support ADHD whānau.
We can do both.

Tighten where harm is caused.
Strengthen where care is needed.
Keep children and whānau safe.

11/11/2025

What Happened Last Time ADHD Medications Became Easy to Access

In the 1990s in Aotearoa, stimulant medications were more easily accessed through general practice. Over time, we saw misuse, diversion, and addiction risks rise. Medication intended to support ADHD whānau began circulating in ways that caused harm.

This was not the fault of ADHD communities. The issue was the lack of specialist oversight and clear clinical pathways.

In the early 2000s, New Zealand moved ADHD stimulant prescribing under psychiatric supervision to:
• protect children
• ensure correct diagnosis
• prevent medication misuse
• reduce addiction risk in the community

Those safeguards were put in place because they were needed. They worked.

This is why ADHD Aotearoa is raising concern now.
Policy changes today can either prevent harm or repeat the past.

We cannot forget our own history.

11/11/2025

Tightening up on illegal m**h is important. No question about that.
We all want safer communities and real support for whānau caught in addiction.

However, what is not being talked about is how policy changes in the ADHD medication system may unintentionally open a second pathway to the same class of drugs through the medical system.

In the 1990s New Zealand saw this happen. When access to stimulants widened without proper specialist oversight, we saw diversion, misuse, and addiction issues increase. That is exactly why the prescribing of ADHD medication was shifted under psychiatric care in the early 2000s — to protect children, to protect vulnerable adults, and to reduce harm.

Now, with Pharmac and Medsafe proposing to expand prescribing to all doctors, we risk repeating history.

If we truly want to reduce addiction and harm, we cannot tighten one side of the system while quietly loosening the other.

This is not about stopping people from receiving ADHD treatment. It is about keeping strong clinical safeguards in place. ADHD whānau have fought too hard for safe, specialist-led care to see it diluted again.

We can support addiction prevention and protect ADHD treatment.
It should never be one or the other.

11/11/2025

An interesting development today on M**h Harm reduction. Worth Reading.

The government announced what Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith called a "comprehensive action plan to combat m**hamphetamine harm in New Zealand".

11/11/2025

Kia ora whānau — I’m still here! ❤

I’ve been a bit quiet online these past couple of weeks — not because I’ve stepped back, but because I’ve been deep in mahi researching and responding to the Pharmac and Medsafe policies around ADHD. Many of you know how passionate I am about ensuring that these policies are fair, evidence-based, and protect those genuinely living with ADHD.

This work has taken a lot of time and focus, but it’s important. I’m standing strong in opposing parts of these policies that risk limiting proper care and creating more barriers for our ADHD communities.

Thank you for your patience while I’ve been less active here. I’m still here, still advocating, and still committed to bringing you updates, education, and real conversations about ADHD in Aotearoa.

Your support means everything — we’re in this together. 💛

13/10/2025

“Change Needs Voices, Not Silence”

For far too long, our ADHD communities has spoken about not being heard, supported, or treated fairly.

But when organisations like ADHD Aotearoa and ADHD Inquiry NZ stand up, speak out, and fight for real change — where is the backing from our own communities?

If change is truly what we want, we can’t stay silent.
We can’t say “nothing ever changes” while ignoring the ones trying to change it.

Head over to on Instagram and add your voice to their petition calling for better education support and fair treatment across Aotearoa.

ADHD Aotearoa meet with Te Pati Maori this Friday on the Pharmac and Medsafe policy changes.

Change doesn’t happen in silence — it happens when we stand together. Become interested in yourselves and your whanau, our country and stand up for our rights to education and fair treatment for ADHD.

08/10/2025

08/10/2025

08/10/2025

This is so true, even with pharmac and medsafe policy on ADHD policies, Maori were never given an invitation or consultation on such serious changes to our mental health system.

08/10/2025

03/10/2025

🌿 A Reflection on Advocacy & Our Fight Ahead 🌿

It is not often that a parent raising a child with disabilities is willing to openly accept advice. But recently, I met a mother raising a child with severe disabilities as well as ADHD, and our kōrero was one I will not forget.

She spoke about the deep emotional toll of parenting an autistic child — how it left her feeling unloved, disconnected, and physically and emotionally drained. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her child, but that the daily challenges had worn her down in ways few outsiders could truly understand. Hearing her honesty was humbling, and my heart ached for her.

What this reminded me is that autism and ADHD bring very different struggles.

Autism is lifelong, complex, and often misunderstood. The emotional and physical exhaustion for parents is very real, as they fight for connection and understanding in the midst of relentless challenges.

ADHD is different. It is a behavioural disorder where behaviours can be learned, managed, and changed — with the right tools and supports in place.

And while both conditions deserve empathy and support, they cannot be treated as if they are the same. What works for one does not work for the other, and when systems lump them together, parents and children alike are left without the help they actually need.

The disabilities community deserves to be seen, heard, and supported in the way they need — nothing less.

And perhaps, for these changes to finally happen, it will take an outside view to bring the solutions forward. After being trapped in the chaos for so long, unheard for so long, their voices have often become dismissed or seen as irritating to the very systems they are seeking support from. Just as Māori grievances and ongoing concerns can irritate some, even when they are based on real injustices, the same is true for the disabilities community.

Their struggle is no less real — it only shows how urgently a fresh, listening ear is needed.

02/10/2025

Rallying Update

Big news: our mission is moving to Parliament.

Thanks to the support of Te Pāti Māori, we will be presenting our concerns around ADHD care and medication access at a meeting on 17 October. This is about making sure our tamariki, rangatahi, and adults with ADHD are not left behind.

To my 1.9k followers and thousands that visit: your support means everything.
Please keep sharing, commenting, and standing strong with us.
Every voice matters, and every story strengthens our case.