What to Do While You Wait for an ADHD Appointment

Updated October 13, 2026. Part of the New York Adult ADHD Guide, get care section. Medically reviewed by John C. Shershow, M.D. on October 13, 2026. Editorial policy

Key points

A 2022 five-state study that included New York found a median wait of 67 days for an in-person psychiatric appointment and 43 days for telepsychiatry, and these pooled figures are not specific to ADHD.
For New York-regulated health plans, the standard for a first outpatient behavioral health appointment is 10 business days, enforced through an Access Complaint to the insurer.
Under the New York Penal Law, to sell a controlled substance includes to give it to another person, and knowingly and unlawfully selling one is a class D felony.
FDA estimates that 56 to 80 percent of people who misuse prescription stimulants get them from family or friends.
The 988 line is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day across New York, and it does not provide ADHD evaluations or prescriptions.

Waits for psychiatric appointments can be long. In a study that called 948 psychiatrists across five states including New York in 2022, the median wait for a new patient was 67 days for an in-person visit and 43 days for telepsychiatry. Those are pooled figures and not specific to ADHD, and no wait time for adult ADHD evaluations in New York has been published. Whatever your wait turns out to be, the weeks are not dead time. You can sometimes shorten them, you can arrive better prepared, and you can make daily life somewhat easier without doing anything that complicates the evaluation.

Legitimate ways to shorten the wait

Option	How to do it	Limits
Cancellation list	Ask the practice to call you if an earlier slot opens, and say which days you can come at short notice.	Depends on other people cancelling.
Video visit	Ask whether a video appointment is available sooner than an in-person one.	You must be physically in a state where the clinician is licensed.
Insurer's provider list	For New York-regulated plans, the insurer must supply a list of available in-network behavioral health providers within three business days of a request.	Not every listed clinician evaluates adults for ADHD.
Access Complaint	New York-regulated plans are held to a 10-business-day standard for a first outpatient behavioral health appointment. If you cannot get one, file an Access Complaint with the insurer.	Does not apply to self-funded employer plans or Medicare. The insurer first gets three business days to find an in-network provider.
A second booking elsewhere	Hold the first appointment while you look for an earlier one, then cancel whichever you will not use.	Cancel promptly. Check each practice's cancellation policy.

The complaint process is laid out in New York's 10-business-day rule. Be wary of any service whose main selling point is speed to a prescription. A fast appointment is fine. A promised outcome is not.

Use the weeks to prepare

Preparation is the most useful thing you can do while waiting, because the slow parts cannot be done the night before.

Request old records now. School files and records from past clinicians can take two weeks or more to arrive.
Talk to someone who knew you as a child. Ask what teachers said and what homework and mornings were like.
Keep a two-week log. Each evening, note one or two concrete things that went wrong because of attention, time or organization, and where it happened. Specific incidents help a clinician far more than general descriptions.
Write your medication and health lists. Include caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and cannabis with honest amounts.
Check a blood pressure reading at a pharmacy machine and write it down.

The full checklist is in how to prepare for an adult ADHD evaluation.

Self-management that is safe to start now

None of the following treats ADHD, and none requires a diagnosis. They are low-risk ways to reduce friction, and they remain useful whatever the evaluation finds.

Put time outside your head. One calendar for everything, alarms for departures instead of for appointments, and a visible clock where you work. More ideas are in time blindness in adults with ADHD.
One list. A single running task list, on paper or in one app, reviewed at the same time each morning.
Shrink the first step. Write the next physical action ("open the tax folder") in place of the project ("do taxes").
Automate money. Set up automatic payment for fixed bills so that late fees stop being a recurring cost.
Work alongside someone. Many people find it easier to start and stay on a task with another person present, in the room or on a video call.
Protect sleep. Keep a regular bedtime and wake time. CDC notes that sleep disorders can produce symptoms that look like ADHD, so your sleep pattern is also information for the evaluation.
Hold caffeine steady. Do not ramp it up to compensate. Write down what you actually consume.
Find other adults dealing with the same thing. Peer groups meet in several parts of the state and online. See adult ADHD support groups and organizations in New York. Peer groups do not diagnose or treat.

Leave your current prescriptions alone. Do not stop or change a medication for anxiety, depression, sleep or blood pressure in anticipation of the evaluation.

What not to do while you wait

Do not borrow or buy someone else's medication

This is the most common shortcut and the one with the most ways to go wrong.

It is a crime for both people. Under the New York Penal Law, to "sell" a controlled substance includes to give it away. Knowingly and unlawfully selling a controlled substance is a class D felony. Possessing a stimulant without a valid prescription is also a criminal offense.
It is how most misuse happens. FDA reports that most people who misuse prescription stimulants get them from family or friends, an estimated 56 to 80 percent. FDA's instruction to patients is "Never provide any of your prescription stimulant medicine to anyone else."
It answers nothing. How you feel on a borrowed pill is not part of the diagnostic criteria, and the drug, strength and timing were chosen for another person's body and health history.
It becomes part of your history. Clinicians routinely ask about non-prescribed use, and the honest answer goes in your record.

Do not order stimulants online without a prescription

U.S. Customs and Border Protection states that in most cases it is illegal for a U.S. citizen to obtain drugs from outside the country and import them for personal use. Pills sold without a prescription also come with no assurance of what they contain.

Do not collect prescribers

Booking two services at once to see which prescribes first leads to overlapping records. New York prescribers must consult the state Prescription Monitoring Program registry, which shows controlled substances dispensed to you in New York over the past year, before writing a controlled-substance prescription.

If things get worse before the appointment

Tell the practice. Call and say what has changed. Practices can sometimes move an appointment up when they know.
See your primary care clinician for low mood, anxiety, panic or sleep problems. Those can be assessed and treated while you wait for the ADHD evaluation.
In a crisis, call or text 988. It is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, every day, across New York. Other options are listed in crisis and mental health help lines in New York.
For a medical emergency, call 911.

988 is a crisis and support line. It does not arrange ADHD evaluations or prescriptions.

The week before

Confirm the date, time, format and what the practice needs from you.
Complete any forms it sent.
Put records, lists and your log in one folder.
Write your three most important questions at the top of the first page.

If you have not booked yet, the new patients page explains how to request an appointment at this practice.

Questions

Can my primary care doctor prescribe ADHD medication while I wait for a psychiatrist?

It can be an option, and it is worth asking. Some primary care doctors evaluate and treat adult ADHD themselves, and others prefer to refer adults to a specialist first. Either way, your doctor can address sleep, mood or anxiety problems in the meantime.

Is it illegal to take a friend's Adderall once?

Yes. Possessing a stimulant without a valid prescription is a criminal offense in New York, and the friend who gives it to you is treated as having sold it under the Penal Law. It also gives the evaluating clinician no usable information.

Should I cancel the appointment if new routines are helping?

No. Better structure makes daily life easier for many people, but it does not tell you whether ADHD or another condition is present. Keep the appointment and tell the clinician what you changed and what difference it made.

How do I get on a cancellation list?

Call the practice, ask to be contacted if an earlier appointment opens, and say when you can come at short notice. Answer unknown numbers during the wait, since an opening may be offered by phone at short notice.

What if I feel much worse while waiting?

Call the practice and your primary care clinician and tell them what has changed. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 at any hour. For a medical emergency call 911.

Sources

This article is general information, not medical or legal advice. Rules and coverage change; check the linked sources for the current position, and speak with a clinician or attorney about your own situation.

What to do while you wait for an ADHD appointment