Hi i am a student just book an appointment for adhd test at YTHS. They say they can’t run a test for foreign student due to lack of childhood data. Is there anything i can do

19 comments

  1. I’m on a similar situation as you, except I’m a native, and I’m waiting for them to make a decision on this. The issue is that I simply do not have school documents or notices anymore, so I have to hope my childhood health documents are enough. Finland’s mental health/psychiatric (at least ADHD-related) services suck already, I can’t imagine how bad it is for foreigners

  4. You could also try private sector health services, but they also require childhood documentation as well, but I believe it is easier to get tested and evaluated that way. The public sector is difficult, because of the influx of people looking to get evaluated in recent years, and they have to draw the line somewhere.

    Unfortunately the private sector will cost you a small fortune without proper insurance

  5. That’s weird imo. I’m native and all my childhood healthcare data was basically my height and weight checked yearly and vaccination info. It was unhelpful, but the tests themselves were proof enough. But, a big but here, the process lasted 4,5 years. They had to check all other possibilities for my symptoms first, especially as I couldn’t prove they had been around since childhood (but this should be done anyway) and then there was covid and my other mental health issues (which turned out to be symptoms of untreated adhd) too. It was very thorough and it’s no exception that the process is long. If your stay is a set time, i.e. two years, I can see why this wouldn’t work and it would make no sense starting the process. Also finding the right meds with all the tapering and building up the dose take time and due to the nature of the medication needs to be closely monitored. It. Takes. Time.

    And after all this I can’t have kelakorvaus off of my meds, so I pay full out of pocket. A bit over 100€ per month. I tried other meds that kela is more acceptable of, but too many side effects to be of any use. And the reason kela doesn’t accept my current meds is lack of childhood data.

    The process can be waaaayy faster in the private sector, but that’s costly.

  6. I am from USA and was prescribed adhd meds almost a year ago. The best advice I can give you is get all your diagnosis/doctors visits, proof of written prescriptions sent over here.

    I has my doctor at home confirm my adhd showing the diagnosis, he sent past prescriptions of medication that was prescribed to me as well. It helped my process and only took a couple doctor visits and drug tests to get the medication.

    Edit: I was prescribed adhd meds in Finland*

    I was diagnosed at home when I was 4.

    Edit 2: this is false info because I also got my meds here from YTHS.

  8. I got diagnosed with ADHD as a foreign student in Finland a few years ago. It’s true that they need evidence about your childhood, and that’s for good reason, but it’s not true that it’s impossible to obtain reliable data because you’re foreign. That’s nonsense, why would it be?

    When I got diagnosed, I provided my school cards. My mom dug them out and sent me a scan. The cards were in Hebrew because I’m from Israel, so I translated them. I printed them out and wrote next to the evaluations a translation in English what they meant. That was good enough and no one complained.

  9. It’s a tough process, I was lucky and was able to get ALL my psychological records from my psychotherapist in germany via mail, 200 or so pages lul. And my Finnish psychotherapist has a colleague that studied in germany so was able to confirm and translate my diagnoses.

    Im afraid without childhood records you’re out of luck as ADHD does not suddenly appear and there certainly is a black market for prescription amphetamine, which adhd medication basically is.

  11. I got a diagnosis in Finland. But did it privately with a psychiatrist, which was obviously expensive. But it is possible in Finland as a foreigner. I had to provide some records from when I was a child and have a family member write a letter about my symptoms they observed during my childhood.

  12. You might want to check out the private sector.

    I know they do ask all your childhood data, but it is bullshit argument to state that a diagnosis could not be made without that.

  13. hi!
    I’m a foreigner, not a student tho, I but a resident of five years . I just recently got my diagnosis, however I didn’t go the public way. It was a challenge to save the money, but now I’m thankful it’s done and over with.

    Psychiatrist didn’t mention to me about needing stuff from medical records, interviews with parents etc…
    of course they did ask me about things, and made me fill out stuff. It helped that I had started therapy in my home country through video call – so I guess they took this into account (?).
    But yea, had two visits with psychiatrist, then they gave me a referral for neuropsych testing for adhd.
    I did that and got my ADHD diagnosis
    Also my Finnish partner came with, since I figured he’s a credible witness to my behavior/challenges in everyday life. And was interviewed before I started my tests.

  14. Personal experience: Private doesn’t ask for childhood data / documentation – at least not in my case. But also not a student.

  16. That sounds incorrect. I have been treated for existing psychiatric disorders without needing to show any prior evidence of a diagnosis. I would try to speak with someone.

  18. You should contest this with them. The käypä hoito recommendation for ADHD, which spells out nationally how it should be diagnosed and treated, explicitly says that when diagnosing an adult they are the primary source of data. Meaning they can’t just deny you based on lack of records, many natives don’t have records that help with the diagnosis either. They can, after interviews and tests, conclude that they can’t reliably determine your symptoms were present since childhood, though. More data is always better, be it records or parent interviews.

  19. I got it easy as a foreigner (from EU) it took almost a year, and they just interviewed my parents, didn’t need anything from school or any records, but maybe went easy because I have a severe depression diagnose and was going to therapy. Psychologist thought that the root of the depression might be from how ADHD affected my life since a child.
    Got it all through the public, never had to pay anything.

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