We realised that several fairytale characters show symptoms of ADHD – we just needed to point them out to parents.

So did we create new films or storybooks? No, instead, we created a cost-effective, scalable new medium: ADHD Symptom Stamps.

30 one-dollar, readily available fairytale books were selected and transformed into ADHD fairytales with simple 50-cent rubber stamps. The hare teased the tortoise? We stamped “Verbal Aggression”. He fell asleep? That’s “Lack of Focus”. Each book received 4-5 of 9 such stamps. Mini-libraries were created in paediatrician waiting rooms where parents could entertain children during the average 1-hour waiting period. The last page of each book explained ADHD as the possible reason behind ‘your child’s naughtiness/poor academic performance’, listing 9 key symptoms of ADHD and ending with a nudge to the doctor. The paediatricians could then diagnose ADHD patients or directly funnel them to specialists, thus building stronger doctor-patient relationships.

Initially, the activity was planned and conducted in 100 paediatricians' clinics as a pilot project from February 2016 to April 2016. However, with 1,000 likely ADHD patients being identified each month and deeply positive responses from parents and paediatricians, it was decided to scale up the activity to 10,000 clinics across the country. With the Indian Association of Paediatricians (IAP) data stating the presence of 25,000 paediatricians in the country, the intent is to ensure that the top 40% of these clinics are covered.

Through ADHD Symptom Stamps, parents realised that ADHD could be the reason behind their child’s perceived naughtiness/poor academic performance and got an opportunity to resolve any concerns on their child’s behaviour. Paediatricians became a new channel to funnel likely ADHD patients to specialists.

Diagnosis of ADHD got due attention in all activated clinics with >1,000 kids identified each month across India, allowing us to scale-up the activity to 10,000 clinics, targeting the identification of >200,000 likely ADHD patients in the first year itself. All this at an estimated cost of <$2.5 per patient identified, or <0.5% the cost of annual treatment with Concerta.

Since ADHD patients report almost thrice as many peer problems, and poorer school performance, the treatment of these new ADHD patients has been life-changing.

In pockets where the paediatricians and specialists were well-connected, the impact on brand prescriptions was significant, making this a focus area for execution.