Henry Shelford, CEO and Co-Founder of ADHD UK, was quoted in the article and provided background information.

Channel 4 aired a documentary on Tuesday evening called The Great ADHD Myth?, hosted by NHS psychiatrist Max Pemberton. The programme argues that the current understanding of ADHD as a neurodevelopmental disorder “is not supported by the evidence,” according to several experts featured, who claim ADHD is “certainly not a medical condition” and that there’s no proven difference between “ADHD brains” and “normal” brains. The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan called it a show that will “incense and offend some of its viewers.”

The backlash has been significant. Charity ADHD UK, which had already sent Channel 4 an open letter before broadcast questioning the documentary, responded afterward with a strongly worded statement: “ADHD is not a myth. It is not a social construct… We have already complained to Ofcom.” The charity is now urging its supporters to also file Ofcom complaints.

Henry Shelford, ADHD UK’s chief executive, told The Mirror the programme was “sensationalist nonsense,” adding: “I wish Channel 4 had done what they did for the menopause with Davina McCall, or for dyslexia with Jamie Oliver” — contrasting it with more sympathetic documentary treatments of other conditions.

Channel 4 defended the documentary, telling The Standard that it aimed to explore whether societal factors are driving rising ADHD diagnoses and medication rates, particularly among boys aged 10-14, the most highly medicated group. The NHS describes ADHD as “a condition where the brain works differently to most people.”

Reader comments on the piece are largely critical of the documentary, with several accusing it of being one-sided and dismissive of lived experience.

You can read the full article here: https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/channel-4-great-adhd-myth-documentary-b1293929.html