An ADHD pilot project at Wallsend set to treat more than 100 children in its first year is making a case to become a permanent clinic.
The program, which treats children aged six to 12, opened in September last year.
The Minns government committed $7.7 million to the program, which included a second clinic in western NSW.
The Newcastle clinic has since treated 70 children and is on track to treat another 100 children by the year's end.
An outreach clinic will open in Tamworth at the end of this month, and more are planned in the Hunter New England district.
The NSW Ministry of Health and an independent body are evaluating the pilot program to consider whether it should continue and be further expanded.
Heidi Goldsmith, a staff specialist paediatrician at the clinic, said "we want it to keep going and it needs to keep going I think".
The Wallsend clinic's waitlist for children aged six to 12 seeking treatment for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is about 300.
The condition affects about one in 20 children in NSW.
Dr Goldsmith said the program was working through the waitlist, based on who had been waiting the longest.
"There's a lot of demand for paediatricians to see kids and families struggling with behavioural or developmental concerns," Dr Goldsmith said.
Dr Goldsmith said maximising sleep, managing screen time, exercise, diet and giving the patient a chance to talk were part of ADHD treatment, along with medication.
A Senate inquiry revealed last year that the number of ADHD prescriptions in Australia had risen from 806,835 in 2013 to 3.17 million in 2022.
ADHD medication includes various types of stimulant drugs, which improve focus and attention.
Dr Goldsmith said the brains of those with ADHD were "like a Ferrari motor" that needed stronger brakes.
"These kids have so much potential, but they can't slow down enough to take in what their teacher says or listen to their parents or sporting coach," she said.
"We want them to reach their full potential. Medication allows the kids to slow down and apply that beautiful brain to learn and thrive."
Orygen, a mental health service that works with young people, says the onset of ADHD is typically before the age of 12.
Orygen policy manager David Baker said it was important that young people could access publicly-funded ADHD services that could identify, diagnose and treat the condition.
"It's critical that when governments fund these pilots that it's done with sustained funding," Mr Baker said.
"That also means the development of the workforce to support these new initiatives."
He said the prevalence of young people with ADHD was increasing.
"Sometimes their symptoms aren't obvious," Mr Baker said.
It was important that GPs and youth mental health services could "identify the symptoms and respond in a way to support" those affected.
The Wallsend clinic does not currently accept direct referrals.
A Hunter New England Health spokesperson said "families seeking an ADHD assessment for their child should continue to be referred by their GP to a general paediatrician".
