After looking down the barrel of two years of scattered appointments the Lightning Ridge based Chilcott family are grateful they were able to take a major shortcut, as rural charities came to the rescue to help five year old Hunter Chilcott receive his ADHD diagnosis. 

“With ADHD it’s a very fine line. Not every child fits into the box,” says Hunter’s grandmother Stacey Bryne. 

Typically, the diagnosis of ADHD is a lengthy process, with consults and visits to “every doctor under the sun”, according to Ms Bryne. 

When based in Lightning Ridge, the challenge is more than doubled, with options to travel nine hours to Sydney or face a possible wait time of months to get access to various specialists locally.

These delays can have long term detrimental effects on a child's learning and development, making a rocky start to the critical early years of schooling, while they wait for effective diagnosis and treatment.

*Hunter Chilcott (centre) with his grandmother Stacey Byrne and father David Chilcott.

The Chilcott family was saved by Sydney-based charity Royal Far West, which addresses the service gaps in rural areas for children’s development, alongside transport charity Little Wings.

Over the course of four days at Royal Far West in Sydney, Hunter had access to every doctor he needed in one place and was able to speed up what could have been an 18-month process of diagnosis. 

“That would be years of travelling and kilometres, fuel, overnight accommodation and time off work. That’s when Little Wings came in,” said Ms Bryne. 

“He got to go in a plane for the first time, so he was over the moon, and then he was able to meet other kids that were like him at Royal Far West. It’s very intensive with appointments but they made it like a fun weekend,” she said. 

“It made the trip to Sydney enjoyable, not completely exhausting.”

With no government funding, Little Wings relies solely on community support to stay in the air.

The Lightning Ridge community have proven themselves as the gem of the West, with the Lightning Ridge District Bowling Club playing a big role in finding funding for the company. 

Little Wings Chief Executive Clare Pearson says that the bowling club has been a big support, quietly in the background funding missions and helping ease the journey for regional families in need. 

“We cannot do it alone and we are so grateful to have the support and partnership of Lightning Ridge District Bowling Club that allows us to support families in need without hesitation,” Ms Pearson said. 

This is likely not the last of either charity that Hunter will see as he grows and requires more assessments, as will his younger brother.

“We have great facilities out here; it’s just about learning how to access them. These great people and organisations out here all make it possible for the kids to get through,” Ms Bryne said.