The Great ADHD Myth? Thoughts From Paul Stevenson

Author Bio

Paul Stevenson is a well respected advocate, author and public speaker who shares his experience of Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, OCD and Autism. Paul works for Genius Within as a Lived Experience Ambassador. Today he writes about the recent documentary from Channel 4 suggesting that ADHD might be a social construct.

I watched Channel 4’s The Great ADHD Myth? hoping for a balanced, evidence-led exploration of ADHD diagnosis, treatment and support. What I saw felt very different. To me, ADHD had been placed on trial before millions of viewers. The prosecution was heard, the defence was largely absent, and the verdict appeared to have been written before the programme began. 

Before the broadcast, Channel 4 defended the title by pointing to the question mark. They said it was intended to encourage debate and was “not a definitive statement”. But a question mark does not automatically create balance. When substantial space is given to voices questioning whether ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, with little meaningful defence of the established evidence, the framing becomes a statement in all but punctuation. 

I was diagnosed with ADHD at 60, but my ADHD did not begin when I received my diagnosis. It had been present throughout my education, employment, relationships and a life that was often incredibly chaotic. 

The evidence was there even in my old school reports. They could not name ADHD because I had not been diagnosed, but they recorded the difficulties I was experiencing. I was still affected by ADHD, whether the adults around me recognised it or not. 

Diagnosis did not give me an excuse. It gave me an explanation. 

It helped me understand why I had struggled with attention, impulsivity, organisation, time, emotional regulation and completing tasks. Difficulties I had previously viewed as personal failings finally had context. I was not lazy, careless or simply failing to try hard enough. Understanding that my brain worked differently allowed me to stop blaming myself and begin finding strategies that worked for me.

This was the lived-experience perspective I felt was missing. What about those of us who were not overdiagnosed, but underdiagnosed for most of our lives? 

I was also uncomfortable with the programme’s use of one young boy as its central “experiment”. His medication was stopped while screens, diet, exercise, outdoor activity, yoga and adult support were all changed simultaneously. If you take a child outside and provide enjoyable activities, they are likely to engage with them. That does not demonstrate that their ADHD has disappeared. Independent experts have described this as an uncontrolled case study from which no reliable scientific conclusion could be drawn. 

The end credits reportedly revealed that Mason later returned to medication following poor examination results, with ADHD UK reporting that his schoolwork improved. That outcome deserved far more prominence. 

Professor Katya Rubia, one of the programme’s expert contributors, has since said that her comments were “cherry-picked, truncated and presented out of context” to fit its narrative. Her actual position is that although an individual cannot currently be diagnosed through a brain scan, decades of research have identified genetic, neurochemical and neurological differences associated with ADHD. 

The potential damage reaches far beyond people with ADHD. It may influence whether parents seek help, whether teachers take a pupil’s difficulties seriously, whether employers respect reasonable adjustments and whether families believe somebody’s diagnosis. It may discourage assessment or cause people to question treatment without appropriate clinical guidance. 

There are, of course, legitimate discussions to be had about assessment quality, waiting lists, private providers, medication and support. We should be able to have those conversations. But questioning whether ADHD exists is not the same as examining how ADHD services can be improved. 

Responsible debate should increase understanding, not manufacture doubt. 

People with ADHD have spent long enough being told they are lazy, disruptive, careless or simply not trying hard enough. We do not need another kick in the head just as we have managed to get back up and finally started living. 

ADHD is not a myth. It is part of my reality, and the reality of millions of others.

Click here to read ADHD UK’s response to the programme.

To read our article from January 2026 about the myth of ADHD Over diagnosis, click here.