ADHD and autism at university in Scotland

This is the one that catches people out, because almost nobody warns you.

Register with a GP in your university city in your first week — check whether your university has a practice on or near campus. Stimulant ADHD medications are controlled drugs, so a gap between prescribers can mean running out; don't leave it until Christmas.

Your prescribing arrangements do not automatically follow you. If your medication is prescribed by your home GP under a shared care agreement — with an NHS clinic or a private provider — a shared care agreement is, in the guidance's words, "an agreement between a patient, their GP and a specialist service". A new GP practice, which may be in a different health board, makes its own decision about whether to take prescribing on.

National guidance from the National Autism Implementation Team (written in 2022 in consultation with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal College of General Practitioners) spells out the position, and two of its points matter especially if your diagnosis was private:

• A private specialist's recommendation for a medicine does not entitle you to NHS prescriptions for it — recommendations for ongoing NHS prescribing need to come through an NHS consultation.
• If the private provider is not willing to continue shared care, or you are moving to the NHS for prescribing, you may need to wait for an NHS specialist appointment before the GP feels able to take on the prescription.

What you can actually do about this:

Finding a practice: search NHS inform's GP practice directory by your new postcode (how registering works), and use the postcode checker on our waiting times page to see which health board — and which waits — your new address falls under.

1. Before you leave home, ask your current prescriber for copies of your diagnostic report, titration record and recent monitoring (blood pressure, heart rate, weight) — a new GP can act far faster with the full paper trail in hand.
2. Ask your current prescriber how continuity will work — whether they will keep prescribing during the handover, and for how long.
3. When you register, tell the new practice immediately that you take ADHD medication under shared care and ask how they handle it — don't wait for the first repeat request to bounce. Our shared care guide explains the system, and our medications guide covers the drugs themselves.

If the arrangement you're leaving can't be kept going, some private providers offer transfer-of-care services aimed at exactly this situation — reviewing your existing diagnosis and continuing prescribing privately while a longer-term arrangement is sorted. That is a genuine option, but a paid one, and every caveat above still applies: private prescribing doesn't entitle you to NHS prescriptions later, and a future shared care agreement remains the GP's decision. If you go this route, compare providers and check regulatory status first.

And one thing about the medication itself: never share or sell it. You may be asked for tablets by other students. Passing someone a stimulant medication is supplying a controlled drug, which is a criminal offence. Keeping medication somewhere secure, and telling your GP practice if any goes missing, is practical advice.

Check with your current service whether your place on a waiting list can move with you. For moves from England to Scotland, the Scottish ADHD Coalition says you will need to be reassessed. For moves between Scottish health boards, ask both services directly. The Scottish ADHD Coalition's guide to transferring care says that if you move from England to Scotland "you will need to be reassessed when you arrive in Scotland", that "There is no ability to skip to the queue and there is no guarantee that you will get medication", and that medication is "a decision which your local CMHT makes".

If you were diagnosed in England through a Right to Choose provider and are now starting at a Scottish university, be aware that the Scottish ADHD Coalition's transferring-care page treats Right to Choose as an English option (it says that moving from Scotland to England means "you have Right to Choose"). In Scotland your new GP and health board make their own decision about prescribing, as described in the medication section. See our Right to Choose guide.

Practical upshot: if you're near the top of a home waiting list, it's worth asking the service whether you can be seen before you leave, or whether staying registered with your home GP (if you'll be back regularly) makes more sense for your situation. There's no universally right answer — but decide it knowingly rather than finding out in February.

The Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) is, in SAAS's words, "a fund that helps disabled students and those with additional learning needs". You need to be studying a higher education course and have extra costs because of your disability. SAAS says the DSA application "is separate from your main funding application" and that you "should complete it with your Disability Advisor". It lists support for disabilities or impairments including "social or communication impairment", "mental health condition" and "learning difficulty", and says this "is not a full list", so talk to your Disability Advisor at your college or university about your situation.

SAAS says DSA can cover costs for "electrical equipment", "software and training", "consumables like printing and paper", "travel expenses" and Non-Medical Personal Help such as note takers, mental health support and BSL interpreters. Applying early is practical advice, and if you're unsure what evidence counts, your university's disability service or Lead Scotland's helpline can advise before you apply. We have not been able to check SAAS's evidence requirements for first-time applicants, so confirm them with SAAS.

The institutions listed below each have a disability or inclusion service, linked from this page. Universities are covered by the Equality Act 2010, which includes a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. Whether ADHD or autism meets the Act's definition of disability depends on its effect on the individual (an impairment with a "substantial and long-term adverse effect" on day-to-day activities). The kinds of adjustment on offer vary by institution, so check your university's disability service page.

Registering early is practical advice: check your university's deadlines for adjustments and exam arrangements. If you're still waiting for an assessment, ask your university's disability service what it can offer without a diagnosis, as policies vary. Ask the service about confidentiality and what is recorded on your student record, as we have not verified those practices for every institution.

Universities generally have a formal process for when disability, illness or crisis affects assessments (names vary, such as extenuating or mitigating circumstances), and some allow a formal pause in studies. Check your own university's regulations for the name and deadlines. If you're struggling, talking to the disability service and your personal tutor or adviser of studies before a deadline passes is practical advice.

If you were diagnosed and treated in another country, two separate problems need planning for.

Bringing your medication into the UK. Some ADHD medications are controlled drugs, and the UK government's rules are specific: if you are not a UK resident, GOV.UK says you must carry a letter of proof that the medicine was prescribed for you, including your name, the dates you are travelling, a list of your medicine with how much you have, doses and strength, and the signature of the person who prescribed it, and that you can "only bring up to 3 months supply". Check the page for drugs that need further permission before you travel.

Getting prescribed here is not automatic. A diagnosis from home does not transfer into an NHS prescription: NHS prescribing decisions are made through NHS consultations, so expect to register with a GP immediately, present your full diagnostic and treatment records (bring them, translated if necessary), and be referred — with the waiting times our board pages document, or a self-funded private route in the meantime. Brand names and available medicines differ between countries, so your UK prescriber will decide which medicine is suitable here. Our medications guide covers what is prescribed in the UK. The import allowance is limited, so starting the UK process early is practical advice.