The region’s first ADHD clinic brings together leading minds and lived experience, in a place where families feel seen.

WORDS NICKY ADAMS | PHOTOS JAHL MARSHALL

It’s hard to pinpoint the most frustrating aspect of believing you have a neurodiverse child with ADHD or autism. It could be the helplessness you experience as a parent as you try to justify behaviour that to others appears anti-social, or the despair of feeling like a failure as the protector of your young one from their overwhelming emotions. Likely it’s the acute anxiety of knowing that you need help to navigate this.

Bay Paediatrics is a private clinic recently set up by leading specialists in the field of neurodiversity, that has been established here in Tauranga. A multi-disciplinary team of paediatricians, psychologists and behavioural change experts (among them co-founder Dr Sarah Moll, herself a paediatric consultant at Tauranga Hospital) will be working together to provide an all-encompassing, world-class service for ADHD, autism, cognitive and learning challenges, and across the neurodiverse spectrum.

Light, bright and spacious, the practice is welcoming - the waiting room is relaxed and comfortable, and there is a separate play area set up for neuro-sensitive children. Freddie Bennett, co-owner and husband of Sarah, shows me around, explaining the reasons behind the decision to set up the practice.

Working as a developmental paediatrician at Tauranga Hospital, Sarah has always wanted to create the best outcome for families, to give them the treatment and guidance they need. However, she was increasingly wishing more could be done. In addition, as parents, Sarah and Freddie have lived experience of the challenges ADHD can present.

As Freddie explains: “We went through a journey with our children, looking at an ADHD diagnosis. At the same time, I’ve come to recognise my own ADHD. Like many parents I looked down the list of symptoms and thought it started to sound familiar. When ADHD came on my radar all the pieces came together. As parents we know what it’s like to navigate ADHD with your children, to feel overwhelmed, confused, to feel like you’re stuck in this holding pattern, waiting and wondering. And there’s a lot of guilt, because you feel like you’re failing as a parent and you should be doing more, but you don’t know what to do.”

Sarah’s role at the hospital made her more than aware of the challenges parents face while trying to get a diagnosis, and as soon as she actively expressed a desire to do more, Freddie was on board. “We thought, what if we tried to create this centre of excellence. We asked, ‘What would I have needed two years ago when we were going on this diagnosis journey? What would I have needed five years ago when I was struggling with my son’s behaviour and I didn’t know what the hell to do? What if we can create the tools, the support, the diagnosis - everything - so other parents don’t have to go through it?’ With Sarah’s skills and talent, we had the platform to help as many children as possible. Now, with the New Zealand Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence - officially opened by New Zealand Minister for Mental Health, Matt Doocey in August - Bay Paediatrics is going from strength to strength.

The combination of skillsets of Freddie and Sarah are perfect for a venture such as this. Sarah brings the neurodiversity specialism, while Freddie takes care of business management. As Freddie explains, the beauty of the centre is the idea of it being a one-stop-shop. “We can assess, diagnose and prescribe ADHD medication. But we also thought, ‘For kids with ADHD and autism, let’s give parents some strategies designed for each family that will make a difference at home and school’. ADHD is often not a standalone condition. We have a multi-disciplinary team to provide gold-standard autism assessments, and with cognitive and learning assessments we can also test for and diagnose dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and beyond. So, while we areBay Paediatrics, we call this building the New Zealand Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence. This is about giving every neurodiverse family the freedom to thrive.”

There are multiple points of difference offered by Bay Paediatrics, one being that while they are a private practice, they're extending their service to offer help to those that may just need clarification. Freddie confirms: “We will review a substantial amount of information for every family that comes to our door. Our medical team will review, and we will recommend the best next steps and assessment pathway for every family. We offer that service for free. Only if we see enough traits of ADHD do we then go on to offer them an assessment. We'll gather the information, analyse it and recommend a next step which may include ADHD, autism, cognitive and learning assessment or just consultation with our psychologist.

Freddie and Sarah have personally invested heavily into this venture, excited to be instigating what they consider a gamechanger. Sarah’s credentials are enough to get people to take notice of what they're doing. She was recently the only paediatrician in New Zealand to present at the 2025 ADHD World Congress in Prague. With her expertise comes knowledge on the most up-to-date diagnostic tools and resources available. Indeed, they are the only paediatric clinic in New Zealand to develop the unique 'ADHD Illuminate' assessment. This groundbreaking ADHD assessment utilises digital assessment techniques to provide a truly objective and science-backed diagnosis. Freddie says, "This is a gamechanger for families. No more guessing. No more worrying about teachers not picking up the signs of ADHD. This allows us to move faster, look deeper and go further for every child".

Very much the cherry on the cake with it comes to ADHD assessment, this computer-based diagnostic tool is designed to help evaluate ADHD by objectively measuring core ADHD symptoms like inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity through motion tracking, eye-movements, computer tasks and scientific analysis. It supports a comprehensive diagnosis by helping to more accurately rule in or rule out ADHD, inform treatment decisions and enables the creation of personalised treatment plans.

“Another aspect of the Illuminate ADHD assessment is that you can come in at 9am and by 4pm you’ve got your diagnosis and potentially a prescription. We can give families the three C’s - certainty, clarity and confidence in one day. What we won’t do is tie you into follow-up appointments - there’s no hidden costs.”

Freddie emphasises that the clinic will stop at nothing to give families the support they need. His mission is to establish the Bay of Plenty as the 'Silicon Valley of child neurodiversity' for New Zealand... and eventually the world. He says, "A neurodiversity diagnosis stays with a child for the rest of their life, so nothing is more important than getting it right first time, every time."

Another aspect of the vision for Bay Paediatrics is the commitment to offer families the tools they need to develop confidence in neurodiversity. Freddie is excited about providing help, regardless of whether a parent chooses to come here for an assessment. “We have free resources, and we run the EPIC programme — Extraordinary Parents and Incredible Children. We have free podcasts and workshops; we have free books on our website. We run the EPIC Families events... giving parents the very best guidance. I believe this because as a parent with ADHD who has a child with ADHD, I know what it's like to feel that the world is against me. That's why we're starting what we call the 'neurodiversity revolution'. As a parent, I say revolution happens when a bunch of people turn around and say, ‘We’re not going to be overlooked anymore, we’re not going to be kept quiet and hidden away’.”

The passion from Freddie is palpable, and it’s clear the emotion that drives this clinic is genuine. There’s a deep understanding of what tip-toeing along the path of neurodiversity means for families. As Freddie points out, “Everything we create is for the real world, for real parents who have real struggles. We can give them tools to help them through. Most of all we want to help parents feel seen and understood. We want to be world-class. And we want Bay Paediatrics to lead the charge.”

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