Exclusive: ADHD Charity Slams Channel 4 Over 'The Great ADHD Myth?' Documentary

The CEO of ADHD UK has shared an open letter calling for changes to be made to the show ahead of its release.

Parents editor at HuffPost UK

The charity ADHD UK has penned an open letter to Channel 4 after it shared a new documentary will be aired dubbed ‘The Great ADHD Myth?’, HuffPost UK can exclusively reveal.

The TV channel said the show “seeks to determine whether ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] is a genuine neurodevelopmental disorder, or a social construct”.

The show will follow NHS psychiatrist Dr Max Pemberton as he speaks to “a growing number of medical experts who are questioning the conventional narrative around ADHD”.

According to Channel 4’s release, these experts “discuss whether the real problem is the environments in which young people are growing up, as well as the current health and schooling systems not being flexible enough to cater for a wide enough range of personalities and behaviours among children”.

It will also follow a family who “want to see whether holistic lifestyle changes can eliminate one boy’s use of ADHD medication”, a press release seen by HuffPost UK reads.

Dr Max Pemberton, who features in the documentary, said: “As a psychiatrist, I’ve watched ADHD go from a diagnosis that was only occasionally made and after careful assessment, to one that is increasingly demanded and dispensed, and I wanted to understand why.

“There’s no doubt that the people seeking these diagnoses are genuinely struggling; that isn’t in question. What the film asks is whether ADHD is really the best explanation for that struggle and my hope is that we come away with permission to ask better questions about what modern life is doing to all of us.”

Backlash against framing of show

Since information about the documentary was publicly shared, some people with ADHD as well as mental health experts have........

© HuffPost