Australian families are spending thousands of dollars and years of their lives on waiting lists to get their children help for ADHD.

Many are doing everything right, and yet are still being denied access to medication because of shortages across the country.

Parents like mum-of-three Jane McFadden have to carry the weight on top of their normal mental load to try and figure out how to get the medication her kids need to function while competing against thousands of other desperate parents hit by the national drug shortage.

It’s become so bad, she says parents are now resorting to secret pill swapping networks.

“People with no medical qualifications are taking matters into their own hands, which I just think is really dangerous,” Jane told 10 News+.