23/08/2026
THE GREAT ADHD MYTH? — I have a problem with that title before we even start.
I watched Channel 4’s The Great ADHD Myth? and, although there were parts of the programme that I absolutely agreed with, I found the overall message incredibly short-sighted and damaging.
Calling ADHD a “myth”, even with a question mark after it, risks belittling thousands of children and adults who have finally begun to understand why they have struggled their entire lives.
People who have spent years believing they were lazy.
Difficult.
Disorganised.
Too much.
Not trying hard enough.
Bad at school.
Bad at parenting.
Bad at life.
Then suddenly they understand their brain, their needs and why certain things have always been so difficult.
That understanding can be life-changing.
Now, there ARE things in this programme that I wholeheartedly agree we need to talk about.
Diet? Absolutely.
I saw the difference diet could make with my own son when he was very young. We removed artificial colours and certain additives from his diet because we could physically see the effect they had on him.
Less screen time? Yes.
Screens are designed to keep us engaged. For children who already seek stimulation and immediate reward, pulling themselves away can be incredibly difficult.
More time outside? Yes.
More exercise? Yes.
More family time? Definitely.
Less ultra-processed food? Yes.
But here’s the enormous piece I felt was missing:
WHY are families living like this?
Parents aren’t necessarily putting their children on screens because they can’t be bothered to parent.
People are working longer hours simply to pay their mortgage, rent, electricity and food bills.
Parents are exhausted.
Children are exhausted.
Families are rushing from school to childcare to homework to dinner to bed.
Schools are under enormous pressure to meet targets.
Children are expected to sit still, concentrate, produce written work, meet deadlines and demonstrate their ability through an increasingly rigid education and examination system.
Add social media, peer pressure, lack of outdoor freedom and an increasingly fast-paced world into that mixture and OF COURSE some children are struggling.
But that does not mean ADHD suddenly isn’t real.
What I found particularly difficult was seeing enormous conclusions being drawn from an “experiment” involving one child. One child doing better with more exercise, less screen time, improved diet and more individual attention does not prove that ADHD doesn’t exist.
It proves that environment matters.
And I have been saying that for years.
If you put a neurodiverse child into an environment that works against their nervous system, they will struggle more.
Change that environment and they may struggle less.
That isn’t evidence against neurodiversity.
It is an argument for reasonable adjustments.
And medication is another area where I think we desperately need nuance.
I am naturally much more interested in holistic approaches wherever they are appropriate, sleep, nutrition, movement, environment, regulation, understanding behaviour, reducing demands and making accommodations. But I have also met many people for whom ADHD medication has been genuinely life-changing.
We shouldn’t shame those people either.
The problem arises when medication becomes the only intervention offered because everything around the child remains exactly the same.
A child struggles to sit through six hours of school.
Medication.
Still struggling?
Adjust the medication.
But perhaps we also need to ask:
Does the school environment need adjusting?
Does the workload need adjusting?
Does the sensory environment need adjusting?
Does the way we teach need adjusting?
Does the examination system need adjusting?
Does this child need movement rather than punishment?
Do they need regulation rather than detention?
Do they need somebody to understand why the behaviour is happening?
Because perhaps the bigger “myth” is that every child should be able to function successfully within exactly the same system.
ADHD isn’t the only neurodevelopmental difference we recognise.
Are we going to suggest dyslexia isn’t real because better teaching helps a dyslexic child?
Or autism isn’t real because an autistic child thrives when their sensory environment is adapted?
Of course not.
Support reducing someone’s difficulties doesn’t prove those difficulties were imaginary. It proves that the support worked.
And this is exactly why I developed my NeuroProfile assessments.
I am far less interested in simply putting a label on somebody than I am in understanding the whole person.
What are we seeing?
Why might we be seeing it?
What happens at home?
What happens at school or work?
What are their sensory needs?
How do they regulate?
What are their executive-function difficulties?
What are their strengths?
What environmental factors are making things harder?
And most importantly:
What can we actually change to help this person flourish?
Sometimes diagnosis and medication are part of that journey.
Sometimes lifestyle changes are part of it.
Sometimes accommodations are transformative.
Usually, it isn’t one single thing.
So yes, let’s have the conversation about diet.
Let’s talk about screens.
Let’s get children outside.
Let’s give families more time together.
Let’s question whether medication is always the first answer.
But let’s ALSO talk about poverty, working hours, childcare, school pressure, examinations, SEN provision, class sizes, overstimulation and a society that expects every human brain to operate in exactly the same way.
Because telling people “ADHD might be a myth” is easy.
Changing the world that neurodiverse people are expected to survive in is much harder.
And THAT is the conversation I wish Channel 4 had started.
Channel 4
With so many questions on what ADHD is, should we really be giving so many children powerful psychiatric drugs to medicate it?The rise of ADHD is one the most prevalent health issues of the modern age. NHS data shows that there has been a 200% increase in the number of people being referred for an A...
