All language subtitles for Do.You.Have.ADHD.2025.1080p.ALL4.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-HiNGS

Up and down the UK,

it feels like everybody is talking
about one thing.

Attention Deficient Hyperactivity
Disorder is one of

the most searched health-related
hashtags,

amassing over 20 billion views.

Why do people not take
ADHD seriously?

Over 200,000 people are on the
waiting list for a diagnosis,

with waiting times of up to eight
years.

If I hadn't been able to afford,

whatever that was, £500 at that
time,

I would still have been on an NHS
waiting list.

Social media is awash
with ADHD-related content,

and famous faces starting
to talk publicly about it.

As a kid I was a complete nightmare
kid,

running around the place, couldn't,
you know,

couldn't control my emotions.

I'm Dr Karan Rajan, medical myth
buster and health educator.

ADHD might be easier to understand
if you think about it as

a dopamine deficiency compared
to a neurotypical brain.

I'm fascinated by the huge explosion

of interest surrounding the
condition,

to the point of which everyone is
talking about it.

The whole of my childhood is papered

with everybody telling me to calm
down.

And it's not just millennials
offering opinion.

The mobile phone made everyone ADHD.

It's a hugely complex topic,
with a huge variety of symptoms.

And as the saying goes, "If you've
met one person with ADHD,

"you've met ONE person with ADHD",
which makes diagnosis a minefield.

So, we're going to help.

For those people on the waiting list,

for those of you who suspect
a diagnosis might be

a good idea, we have the
world-leading experts.

It's not just the worried well,
if you see what I mean.

It's real, but because it's so
common, it's coming to light.

The most authoritative
neurodiverse voices...

We know the right things to do
to help ourselves

and make ourselves feel better.

..and some world-beating
commentators.

Sometimes I have to many things in
my head,

that I just lose everything.

Dr Clare Bailey Mosley and I are
going to take you through all of

the stages of diagnosis, from form
filling to the final assessment.

What do you to relax? I don't, I
suppose.

We'll explain what constitutes
a diagnosis...

Everybody loses their keys
sometimes, but if you've got ADHD,

it needs to be significantly
more than you would expect.

..and you can join in by filling out
this assessment form.

We'll explain later.

We're here to steer you through
a myriad of information

to help you on your way to whatever
that outcome may be.

So what do people with ADHD say
it's like?

Normally my brain is almost as if
there's like all of these sort

of particles, firing off in
different directions

all at the same time.

It is like having a Ferrari engine
but having bicycle brakes.

It feels like there's just always

a swarm of bees in my brain that are
just always are going at

each other, are trying to fight
each other,

trying to get to the top of my
attention.

It was like 20 televisions on at
once.

And you can't really tell what
channel it's on and what it...

..what anything is saying.

2.6 million people in the UK have
ADHD,

and there's probably a lot more
without an official diagnosis.

Yes, private assessments are
quicker, but on the NHS,

the waiting list can be

a matter of years, all depending on
where you live.

We're going to look at what exactly
constitutes a diagnosis.

You'll primarily be assessed on
three criteria.

The first is for those inattentive
symptoms,

defined by someone who can be easily
distracted and forgetful.

Next, are traits of hyperactivity
and impulsiveness,

often characterised by restlessness,

excessively talking and acting
without thinking.

And the third is impairment.

To be diagnosed,

your life has to be significantly
impacted by ADHD.

It's not just a case of losing your
keys.

To give you a step-by-step
understanding of

the diagnosis process,
Dr Clare Bailey Mosely has agreed

to share her assessment journey
with us.

Clare is a former GP and widow of
the late, lovely, Michael Mosley.

Throughout their life together,

she believed there were indications
that they both had the condition.

Michael would wait until the last
moment to write his articles

and wait until the pressure was
there,

which is a really classic thing

before you actually get into
the zone and then power through.

Clare's own big aha moment came when
her inattentiveness nearly led

to fire in a friend's kitchen.

I cooked a meal and I left my rice
cooking. Went off,

came back and there was smoke
billowing around

the kitchen and it was very
embarrassing.

Clare may be a doctor,

but she can't simply diagnose
herself. There are formal steps.

I haven't had an assessment
but I've had an inkling

for some time that I do have ADHD
in some form.

If you want to be diagnosed,

you have to start by looking
backwards.

ADHD is a neurodivergent condition,

which most experts would say you
are born with.

So a diagnosis will look at
childhood behaviours.

Argh!

So whether it's your child now
or what you were like as

a child then, what are the traits to
spot?

Hello.

I'm here at a sensory experience
to get

the expert view from the mouths of
babes...

Help.

I'm Mikey, M-I-K-E-Y, Mikey, and I'm
seven.

..and hang out with
Professor Stephen Scott,

the number-one world-leading academic

and clinician in the research of
ADHD,

to find out what behaviours
an assessment will be looking for.

So if you're a parent at home,

what are some signs that you can
really pick out that

to differentiate between maybe just
a personality trait of that child

vs something that could be ADHD
and a pathological condition?

First of all, if you're just
watching in

the school playground, are they
running around

more than other kids?

At the table, compared with their
brother,

do they have to keep getting up
and down?

Are they always forgetting things
much more? Are they leaving kit,

gym kit at school and that sort of
thing, this disorganisation?

The second step is to ask

the teachers what they're like
in class.

If they are fine in class, it's
something else, it's not ADHD.

But if the teacher says, "Yes,
they're very disruptive.

"They're always chatting
and talking to the other people.

"They keep wandering around.
They seem to be daydreaming.

"You know, come back!", Then you're
more likely to be onto

something. Because if it's both at
school

and at the home, then it's more
likely that you should be concerned

about it.

Carry on! This room is... It's
really satisfying and nice.

But look down, Oliver.

It can give you an extremely good
memory or it can give you

a memory that is almost equivalent
to a goldfish.

Things just feel, maybe,
a bit more hyper.

And also, I fidget a lot.
I mean a lot, a lot.

Sometimes I have too many things in
my head that I just lose everything,

so I can't think of what I'm saying.

Do you find concentrating tricky?

Erm, sometimes.

ADHD presents so differently in
different people.

What are some of the core symptoms
of ADHD?

The boys are often hyperactive
and impulsive,

which means they get referred
to services,

whereas the girls can just
be inattentive

and it can be missed until
adolescence.

So whilst it is commoner in boys
when you do surveys,

two-and-a-half times more common in
boys than girls,

the referral rate to our services
is four-to-one, boys-to-girls.

Because they're causing more trouble
in the family,

they're being more difficult.

AGH!
SHE LAUGHS

What's hard about ADHD is sometimes
I say things that are,

like, I never knew that were
actually really rude,

so I just say it without thinking.

So we're hearing more about
ADHD being on the rise.

Do you think that's a result of
increased awareness

and we're getting better at
diagnosing it?

Or there something environmentally?

I think the evidence is actually
clear,

because when we do surveys in
whole community,

epidemiological surveys,
it is so common. 5%.

Now, epilepsy 1% or 2%. Autism is
1%.

This is five times more common.

So actually, we're getting much
more referrals.

So I've been looking at - in the
South London Maudsley Trust,

which is the biggest mental health
trust in

Europe, actually - of those
referred,

how many when they finally get
to be assessed have got it?

94% have. Wow.

So it is not just the worried
well, if you see what I mean.

It's real but because it's
so common, it's coming to light.

So first, be reassured, you might
have every right

to be asking, "Does my child or do I
have ADHD?"

If you are an adult starting out on
the journey to diagnosis,

there are ways of looking more
closely at childhood behaviour.

Recollections from your school,
family and friends will help,

and, of course, your own memories.

So, I've found some old books
from when

I was nine or ten, which is quite
interesting.

Fortunately for Clare, these jotters
have teacher comments,

as well as surprisingly good
handwriting for a future GP.

"Unfinished. You waste too much
time. You made a good start.

"It was a pity to spoil it."

"Please finish." I think I've got
quite a few of those.

Four out of ten. So it wasn't
terribly motivating somehow.

Like many women across the UK,

Clare is from a generation who were
simply missed by

the system of the time and are now
looking for answers.

When I'm looking through these
books,

I think there are significant clues,
the fact that I kind

of really focussed on things that I
was interested in

and barely finished the things that
I wasn't.

So where might you start if you too
are looking for answers?

We are using an ADHD screening form
from the WHO,

easily found if you put those words
into your internet search engine.

It's a symptom checklist designed by
the WHO,

the World Health Organisation.

And it's not a diagnostic tool on
its own, but it could give

a strong indication - if you tick
four or more

of these grey boxes - that if you
wish,

you may benefit from an ADHD
assessment, so let's begin.

So first question -

"How often do you have difficulty
wrapping up

"the final details of a project?"
I have to say

I do love a good project.
I can get very involved in it.

But I do kind of fade a little bit
towards the end.

Number two, "How often do you have
difficulty

"getting things in order when you
have to do

"a task that requires organisation?"

"How often do you have problems
remembering appointments

"and obligations?"

I think probably that's my most
frustrating thing.

"When you have a task that requires
a lot of thought,

"how often do you avoid or delay
getting started?"

"How often do you fidget and squirm
with your hands or feet

"when you have to sit down for a
long time?"

"How often do you feel overly active

"and compelled to do things like you
were driven by a motor?"

That's Part A of the form.

If you tick four or more marks in
the shaded boxes,

then your symptoms are consistent
with ADHD in adults.

Section B provides additional
context.

But what about other things you
might have heard about the condition?

ADHD arms?

Next, I'll help myth bust some
of what's being said on our socials.

Do you do when you go to sleep at
all?

Where you curl up like this?

You know? No. No?

In a world in which
over 200,000 people

are waiting for a diagnosis,

do you have ADHD?

Lots of you have what are known
as ADHD traits,

but do they add up to a diagnosis?

It's quite difficult to explain
how it doesn't affect my life.

It affects my health,

it affects my sleep,

my diet, my exercise,
literally everything.

If I'm losing things on
a constant basis, like,

that's very expensive
and very frustrating.

Yeah, and again it has that knock on
effect of confidence -

of, like, why can't I just adult
like everybody else?

Dr Clare is exploring a diagnosis,

having thought about it for years.

It's a journey of self-discovery.

I'm curious.

So, did you tick four or more
grey boxes

on the WHO self-assessment survey?

If you look at my form,

out of the six questions,

only one of the answers
are in the grey box.

One out of six wouldn't
meet the threshold

for a formal ADHD assessment.

I have got my score.

I scored four,

which puts me just
over the line.

And that is particularly
in the areas

of being impulsive

and time blindness.

You know, I'm looking forward to
seeing what happens next.

The first step is,

if you're an adult, you need
to speak to your GP

and discuss with them whether
you'd be eligible

for an NHS ADHD assessment.

And if you're worried that
your child has ADHD,

you can speak to their GP -
as well as their school -

and also get them referred for
an NHS ADHD assessment.

There's also a private route
available.

There is useful information online

to help you figure out if an
assessment is warranted.

But is the sheer wealth of it

actually being counterproductive?

ADHD arms?

You know, you kind of just
stand like this

when you're thinking
about something.

T-rex arms. Have you seen this?
T-rex arms?

Do you do this when you go
to sleep at all,

where you curl up like this?

You know. No. No. No.

Have you ever done that yourself?

Yeah, or seen anyone do that?

No. Probably with the duvet
just to get warm... Yeah.

..and snuggly.

So this next clip is the dot test -
and it's a test of someone's focus.

So, according to this clip,

if you stare at the flashing
blue dot in the middle,

you should be able to make
all three yellow dots

in the periphery disappear.

And if you can't make
them disappear,

then this clip says that you've
likely got ADHD,

or a strong chance of that.

OK, so this is a dot test,

and you should see the other circles
on the outside disappear

Well, two of them are gone.
OK. Now they're back.

No, not for me.

Any luck? No, they're still there.
One, two, three.

So, according to this test,
you could have ADHD.

Or you're just easily distracted.

That could be me, too.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Do you think you guys have ADHD?

No. No? No. No.

Have you ever been diagnosed
with ADHD?

No, I have not.

And do you think this test is good
enough to diagnose you?

No!
Yeah? Why not?

It just seems a bit silly.

If you seriously think
you have ADHD,

be mindful of internet diagnostics.

T-rex arms and dot tests are fun,

you may procrastinate,

you may interrupt or talk a lot,

you may stim or skin pick,

all of which are fine.

But an assessment will go
much deeper.

And as we've said, queues for
assessments can be very long,

so is a formal diagnosis even
necessary for you?

Dr Val Harpin has spent no less than
30 years researching ADHD.

We have a huge backlog,

so now we're trying to diagnose lots
of adults -

particularly women -

who were missed when we only thought
ADHD was a narrow situation.

And now it's really key that we deal
with the backlog

and help those people.

So, should everyone get diagnosed if
they think they might have it?

There are upsides and downsides
to having a diagnosis.

I think if you're a young child,
there are no down sides,

because the sooner you get diagnosed

and you get the right help
and people understand you,

the better.

But when you're older,

I think people have lots of
different responses.

Sometimes I think the biggest thing
is relief.

Er, "Yeah, that explains it."

Sometimes it makes them also
feel resentful. Mm.

You know, "My life could've been
so different if only I'd known."

So there are some downsides.

So people struggling underneath,
below the surface...

Yeah. ..where life is quite
difficult

and can be impaired in many ways.

One of the important things when it
comes to ADHD,

because everybody can look
at a checklist,

but just going "yes, yes, yes"
is not diagnosing ADHD.

The bottom line is that it needs to
cause you significant problems.

Everybody forgets things sometimes.

Everybody loses their
keys sometimes.

And we're more likely to do that
if there are other stressors

in life or whatever.

But if you've got ADHD,

it needs to be significantly
more than you would expect

for that person's age,

for their cognitive ability
and for their situation.

So just doing it a bit of the time
is not ADHD.

You have to do it in more than one
situation and consistently.

It's important to say that
being "impaired"

doesn't mean there's no help
or support

that you can access for your ADHD.

Not that everything about the
condition is a problem.

It's just under a year since
my first book came out.

A lot of you have read this one,
actually.

I think around 20,000 of you,
which is wild.

Ellie Middleton likes to shout
about the positives

of having the condition.

She's written two empowering books

and has built up an audience online
of 500,000 followers.

I think the big thing
that I've learnt

and tried to, like, preach
to other people,

is just don't be afraid
to make things

as easy for yourself as
humanly possible.

ADHD is also characterised
by traits

of creativity, resilience, excellent
problem-solving skills.

Entrepreneur Alex Partridge
is the founder

of the social media platform
LADbible.

He's now a leading voice,

with his podcast garnering over
five million views.

Getting an ADHD diagnosis was
incredibly validating.

You get reassured
by a professional

that the suspicions that you have
about your brain are valid

and you start looking back through
your entire life

through this new lens that you have.

And you start adding colour to
situations from your past.

Taking everything into account,

Clare has decided to proceed with
a full clinical assessment -

and is booking one that
can be filmed

for the purposes of this programme.

So, if you've decided to be assessed
or been referred,

you should know that both the prep

and the assessment can be lengthy.

The assessment process is actually
really complex.

Because you need to understand
somebody's whole life history,

the environment that they
grew up in,

you know, their family
background,

to have the ability to understand

whether their symptoms are explained
by ADHD

or whether they could be better
explained by something else.

In the assessment for ADHD,

they ask you so much about
your childhood.

It's very in-depth,

and it can be quite sensitive

because nothing is off-limits
to talk about.

I'm slightly nervous about it,
I have to say.

Because it might show things that
I hadn't even recognised.

And I'm really looking forward
to finding out, really.

An assessment may be done by number
of ADHD specialists,

such as a psychiatrist.

Clare is with Vicki George,

a private Clinical Nurse Specialist
in ADHD.

Hello, Vicki.
Hi.

Really nice to meet you.
Lovely to meet you.

The first criteria an assessment
will look at

is inattentive behaviour.

This causes difficulties
with concentration,

focus and organisation.

In our brains, there's a group
of interconnected regions

called the Default Mode Network.

In a neurotypical brain,

the DMN quietens down when attention
is needed.

But for someone with ADHD,

it is often dysregulated,

meaning it is excessively active
and less able to switch off.

This can make it harder to store
information,

resulting in memory lapses.

So the first thing I want to look at

is inattentive symptoms associated
with ADHD.

Having an ADHD assessment can be
really emotionally challenging -

for most people, actually.

Because you're sat in front of
a professional

that you've only just met
for starters,

and they're asking you to kind of
disclose your whole life story.

Do you notice anything in terms
of, like,

how you listen in conversations?

It shouldn't be anything less
than 2.5 hours,

but actually it quite often
exceeds that.

I certainly... As a child,
I daydreamed.

I can remember probably
more about school

staring out of the window.

We're looking for how somebody
is able to concentrate,

focus in different settings.

What about your mind wandering?

I'm sure that happens,

but it's difficult for me to measure
because it's wandered.

Do they overcompensate,

do they mask their difficulties
from others?

Certainly, Michael was aware
of my poor timekeeping.

Quite often, people can see
the problems

that ADHD is causing in
their lives

but can't quite figure out
why that's happening.

I just think I have been living
with it... Yeah.

..you know, sort of comfortably
but with the odd blip.

So Clare definitely displays

a lot of the inattentive-type
symptoms.

So, again, dating back to childhood.

Comments from teachers about,
you know,

starting off with enthusiasm,
not finishing.

And then, you know, throughout her
adult life,

time management is a real issue
for her.

So it's just digging a bit deeper
of whether this is

a problem or not, basically.

The inattention stage of
the diagnosis is over.

A trait that can be tough
to manage

in a neurotypical world.

However, the flip side of
the symptom, for some,

is hyperfocus.

Hyperfocus refers to an
intense fixation

on an interest or activity for
extended periods of time.

Now, someone who experiences
hyperfocus

are often so absorbed in that
activity they can block out

the entire world around them.

When I was writing both of my books,

I would literally sit for, like,
five, six hours a day

and just pour out words,

and just go and go and go.

And then, once that sort
of hyperfocus,

hyper-fixation had worn off,
I literally, for a month,

didn't write a single word.

Your vision just goes
into tunnel vision,

and everything else to you
becomes invisible

and ceases to exist.

And the focus that you have
for that thing

is more than the average person
would relate to.

And that hyperfocus can enable you
to become world-beating

at that thing, world-class
at that thing.

But hyperfocus doesn't choose
what you focus on.

In 2019, George King scaled
the Shard,

the tallest building in the UK,

using no safety equipment.

He went to prison for two months,

and that's because it was
incredibly dangerous

and illegal.

But for George, it seems this kind
of intense heart-stopping activity

is how some of his ADHD traits
manifest.

For me, hyperfocus really came in
in the preparation process.

I'd go into the concierge.

I'd speak to the concierge.
Wow.

I'd find my way up to
the office levels

and look at the facade from
a close-up view.

Other times, I'd dress up
in sports gear,

I'd run to the Shard and I'd stretch
on a pillar.

And I'd see on the pillar

that it goes from a wrist
to my elbow.

And then I'd run back home and I'd
measure from my wrist to my elbow,

and that would be one measurement.

And I'd do hundreds of these

different reconnaissance missions,

only getting one piece
of information

at each and every given time.

I wouldn't have been able
to do this

level of meticulous planning
without having ADHD.

George scaled the 350-metre
pointy behemoth

in 45 minutes.

When you're climbing it freehand,
free solo... Yeah.

..I mean, your life's
in your fingertips.

So there's no time for any
other thoughts,

you're totally dialled
into the moment.

Living with ADHD is very chaotic.
Yeah.

The thoughts are relentless.

They never stop.

But when I have something which
actually means something to me,

all those thoughts become compressed
and then channelled into one thing.

The universe gets out of the way

and it's only this thing
in front of me,

and it's a very fierce level
of focus -

and it's unwavering.

ADHD gave me the ability
to be hyperfocused,

to plan so meticulously.

So I'm blessed that I have it.
Yeah.

I see it as a gift.

I do not see it as a disorder
at all.

Hyperfocus is one of many traits

that do not form part of
the diagnosis

but that people with ADHD will often
find they have in common.

For lots of those symptoms,

it can be really comforting knowing
there are other people

who feel like you or experience
things the way you do.

Step three, get it all into
the washing machine.

And there's a whole ADHD community
out there.

I've got absolutely no idea

why or how it works,

but it does work.

ADHD seems to be the topic
on everyone's lips.

But what are the experts looking for
in a diagnosis

and how do you know you need one?

My understanding of myself
got better.

My ability to cope got better.

I think I can credit
a lot of my ideas

and, like, endless energy
and passion to it.

With the rise of the internet -

and our old friend,
social media -

there's been a significant shift
in how the condition

is perceived and discussed.

It's nice to, like, have a community
of people

who feel the same as I do, OK?

Because I felt so alone
for a long time.

From Knights of the Realm
who are asking

different and personal philosophical
questions about the subject...

Consider not what's odd about ADHD,

but see if you can define
what normality is.

..to high profile ADHDers

who are shocked by the length
of the waiting list.

All this awareness is now causing
a massive problem,

because everybody thinks
they have ADHD

and the NHS waiting list
is something in...

Is it a year or something?
Eight years now.

Eight years?!
Yeah.

We've already looked at the first
criteria you'd be assessed on,

which is inattentiveness,

and its stablemate,
hyperfocus.

The next set of probing questions
would look for examples

of hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

This can cause someone to fidget,

excessively talk and acting
without thinking.

In the brain, two neurotransmitters,
dopamine and norepinephrine -

crucial for the body's response
to stress and danger -

send signals to different regions,

affecting our behaviour
and emotions.

In an ADHD brain,

they are distributed at
much lower levels,

impairing someone's attention
and impulse control.

I'm very impulsive.

And I think impulsivity is
a great strength

once you understand it.

It's the reason so many people
with ADHD

become world-class at whatever it
is that we impulsively started.

So what might this part of the
in-person assessment look like?

Here's Clare, now two hours
into her session.

How you would describe yourself in
terms of, like, hyperactivity?

I would say I'm energetic.

Sometimes you can have somebody
who is very hyperactive,

and you can see that in the room.

However, for some people,

hyperactivity can be
very internalised.

Any, like, habits or repetitive
kind of fidgeting?

I think I just do fidget.

It's about getting to the bottom,

the root cause, of why they're
more vulnerable

to these things happening
in their lives.

What do you do to relax?

I don't, I suppose.

I think I just like to be... Yeah.
..active.

We will ask... So questions about
substance misuse,

risky sexual behaviours.

There can be the extremes
of impulsivity

and risk-taking type behaviour.

Is that something
that you relate to?

They are all really relevant to
the assessment process.

Hyperactivity, impulsivity
and trying to control behaviour

is familiar ground for
many with ADHD.

Here, Jordan Stephens
from Rizzle Kicks

opens up about how it affected him.

For me, a big part of
my journey was

I was doing a lot of drugs to combat
the incessant, like,

chatter in my head.

So I was creating albums,
like, high or drunk

to kind of get myself
out of the way.

And Matt Willis has also been really
honest about how it manifested

in his younger years.

Kind of young, kind of smoking weed
and kind of drinking and stuff.

Sure. I was always the one
who was kind of...

Going that extra mile. ..going that
extra mile, you know...

Destructive. Just destructive,
just wanting to kind of

change the way I felt.

I've come to meet some people
who have used boxing as

a way to manage their ADHD symptoms
and calm their brains.

Nice and straight. Double jab...

I was always in trouble at school.

I wasn't able to sit through
all my lessons,

so I'd, you know, I'd be up and down
everywhere.

I always thought I was just
a naughty kid,

but I didn't want to be like that -
I just was.

Jab with the right hand.

I just always thought I was just
gonna be a naughty kid in school,

didn't really see a pathway for me.

And again.

So how do you find boxing
has helped you?

Oh, it's been life-changing.

Boxing is the one thing that
I can actually come in

and focus on.

When I'm in a session, everything
else just switches off,

which is really nice cos I don't
get that chance

with anything else in my life

because my brain is just
always at a 101.

But when I'm here and, you know,
I put my gloves on,

that's it - the world
just turns off.

Before, I'd rise to anything,

like, you could call me
an idiot and I'd rise to it.

So small things would really
affect you?

Yeah, yeah, and then I started
boxing and most of my anger,

I was getting that out in the gym
hitting in the bags.

Boxing has been my lifeline.
You know, it...

I would go so far as to say
it's saved my life.

Right hand roll, right hand.

Right hand roll, right hand.
And again.

You will find that any physical
exercise is regularly recommended

for someone who has ADHD
or symptoms of.

Beautiful.

And that doesn't have
to mean boxing.

Even the smallest of activities
can help people focus energy

or manage hyperactivity.

Good. Let's go.

Ooh, look at that.

It's like a... Oh, God, I love it!

It's a fidget toy.

I guess I just find it easier
to think when I'm also, like,

occupied by something else.

And you don't need to have
a diagnosis to find them useful

or soothing.

If I don't have something like this
in my hand I'm always, like, sort of

having the stream of thought at
the same time as trying to talk of,

like, "OK, how should I be sitting?"

Like, "Should I'd be sat still?"

The third and final part of
an ADHD diagnostic assessment

delves into impairment.

Compared to someone who is
neurotypical,

an ADHDer will struggle in areas
like the home, education,

work and social interactions.

So you'd need to show evidence
of how symptoms consistently

interfere in daily life.

The things are most people
find hard

seem to, like, click in my brain
quite easily,

whereas the things that most people
seem to find easy

of, like, getting in the shower,
like, staying organised,

cooking, cleaning, going to the gym,
doing all of those things,

they're the things that feel
difficult for me cos they're not

as, like, I guess exciting for
my brain in the same way.

So when something's not something
that is challenging

or exciting, it's, like,
a real slog to try

and motivate myself to
actually do it.

So the final part of the assessment
is looking at how all of

the symptoms and behaviours
that you've kind of identified

and we've talked about,
how they impact your life.

So I do turn it back
to that person and say,

"Where do you feel that all
of these symptoms

"that we've identified associated
with ADHD,

"where are they holding you
back in life,

"where are they causing
the biggest problems?"

What about relationships and,
you know,

friendships, relationships
with family as well,

is there any impairment?

Not particularly.

In somebody's personal life it might
be that they have got themselves

into debt, or they...

Constant credit cards or, you know,

conflict with their partners
over money.

What about any kind of
overcompensating behaviours

that you recognise in yourself that
almost like tips things too far

the other way round?

Some things. Yeah.

It can really be, you know,

what people describe as
a roller-coaster of emotions.

Next, after a four-hour deep dive,

Clare ends her quest for
a diagnosis.

Would you agree with that?

I would. I think that's probably
a very fair reflection, actually.

And I learn what support you can
access whether you've had

a diagnosis or not.

Dopamine, dopamine, dopamine.

Dr Clare has always suspected that
her and her late husband,

Michael, had ADHD.

And now, having gone through the full
diagnostic process, time to find out.

Clare's scored highly
for inattentiveness

and hyperactivity,

and has just completed
the final stage of

a gruelling four-hour assessment,
impairment,

a crucial criteria which everyone
needs for an ADHD diagnosis.

When we looking at the diagnostic
criteria for ADHD,

we really focus on level
of impairment.

And you even recognise yourself that
there isn't really any impairment

in your adult life.

Without that impairment,
we wouldn't diagnose ADHD.

Would you agree with that?

I would. I think that's probably
a very fair reflection, actually.

It's interesting,
hearing all these...

..what you would call impairments,

but I don't feel particularly
impaired by them.

I know it's a weird thing to say.
Yeah.

You know it's possible for anybody
to have sort of traits of ADHD,

but actually it not warrant
or justify a diagnosis

and need treatment because there
isn't impairment there.

It was a long process,
I have to say.

A really interesting
and intricate process.

It turns out that I actually
don't fit the criteria,

but I've found it really
interesting, really interesting.

So Dr Clare has her answer.

But what about those who don't yet?

If, like Clare, you don't have
a diagnosis,

you can still access lots of help
and support from the ADHD Community.

Rox, who has ADHD,
and her husband Rich,

who doesn't, offer up
an unfiltered view

of what it's like to live with ADHD.

You think you're doing it
on the chorus,

but you're actually not -
you've gotta do it...

The pair have created an app
that harnesses

the power of something called
"body doubling".

So body doubling is a really strange
phenomena in the ADHD world,

that essentially means
we - people with ADHD -

can get more stuff done
if we have company.

To most people, making the bed,
you just make the bed.

To a lot of ADHDers,
it doesn't work like that.

It's, "Where do I start?
Do I take the duvet off?

"Do I take the pillows off?
Do I have to change the sheets?

"Do I tidy the bedside tables
as part of this?"

Your brain just spills out
into this...

what should be one task,
makes it 20.

"It's overwhelming. I won't do it."

Step one here is going to be get
the laundry that you want to wash.

Go and grab that, and I'll meet you
back here for step two.

We have these videos broken down -
they're like instructional videos

for basic tasks, which nobody
would normally give

because they're basic.

However, it brings some logic
into a very chaotic brain,

and just helps you get stuff done.

Step three, get it all into
the washing machine.

I initially thought it was
a terrible idea.

I was like "What...
What are you talking about?

"You wanna build an app about making
the bed and doing the w...?"

Like, I couldn't see it.
But you were like, "This is it."

Step five, pat yourself on the back
because you've climbed

Mount Everest, also known as
Starting Laundry Phase 1.

I think unless you have ADHD
you wouldn't see the need for it,

you wouldn't understand it.

Hello, everyone.
You have got me today.

Today they're doing a live stream to
some of their 300,000 followers.

So hopefully that is OK.

I can see lots of people on.

You'll be able to see there is
a blue-haired emo walking around

behind me doing the kitchen
as we speak.

Say hello. Hello.

One of the main things why the app
works is shame reduction.

So shame can make you freeze,
can make you feel like

you can't do something.

When you meet that with other people
who feel that they can't,

and you have someone being really
kind telling you you can,

it's actually amazing
what people can do.

Joanna, it looks like
she's washing up.

Helen, it looks like she has just
done the washing.

We've got Clare - I think
that's a new face.

I think Clare might be...
Yes, that's me, Claire.

..unloading the dishwasher.
Hello. Hi, Clare.

I'm doing the dishwashing.

Yeah, she's definitely doing
something in the kitchen,

so good luck.

Despite not having
a diagnosis,

Clare, like many others, is finding
support from the ADHD gang.

I'm packing the dishwasher.

This is a new experience,
doing the dishwashing.

So it's quite nice.

It's the kind of sense that
you're all doing it together.

We don't get enough
community stuff somehow.

So it's quite engaging,

and if it's helping people get
motivated that's fantastic.

As well as tapping into those
with lived experience of ADHD,

we can also turn to experts.

Parul Singh advises companies how
to be more neurodiverse-friendly

and is going to show me things that
workplaces could consider

if they were to be more
accommodating.

Hi, Parul. Nice to meet you.
Hi, Karan. Nice to meet you.

So I've heard this is a
neurodiverse-friendly work space.

On first instances, it looks
no different than another

really nice workplace.

So when you walk into
any other office,

what's the first thing that
you usually see?

A reception desk.

Absolutely. Yeah.

And if we look here, it kind of
looks like a reception desk.

Sort of, yeah. But nobody is
actually usually sat here.

This was quite intentional
because for a lot of

the time, in offices,
you walk in,

there might be more than
one receptionist. Yeah.

You don't know where to look.
It can feel a bit, like,

anxiety-inducing. Sort of
overwhelming, the choice.

Yeah, absolutely. And people
with ADHD might need more flexible

hours than other people. Yeah.

So they might feel conscious
that "Oh, I'm going for, like,

"a longer lunch. Is someone going to
notice it?", or, like,

"I'm leaving early", or something.

So in this bit here we've got
these little cubicles.

If I open it, this probably looks
like a soundproof booth

where you would usually do meetings
or you would do calls.

So this isn't actually for
calls and meetings.

When somebody with ADHD is
completely hyperfocused

on their work, which is a great
thing to be able to get into,

actually... Yeah. ..because
they might be able to do

what somebody else might need
four hours... Yeah, I can't do that.

..in literally, like,
maybe like an hour or two.

It happens to me very often
and a lot of my friends with ADHD.

That hyperfocus is like golden time.

So this is a space which
actually somebody can truly get

into that hyperfocus zone. Yeah.

Obviously, we have a spinny chair
as well, which is great

to sort of fidget on.

It nurtures those traits
which can be leveraged into

something positive. Yeah, absolutely.

How important is it to have
workplaces like this

that can be more inclusive?

This is not about trying to hire
more neurodivergent people.

They are in your workplaces already.
Yeah.

So it's in your best interest when
you have maybe spent money hiring

that person, onboarding them,
training them,

investing in them,
to do whatever you can,

whether it's the work environment or
the support systems that

you actually have in place for
neurodivergent people

and people with ADHD
to actually help them thrive.

And for the ADHD brain looking
for that dopamine hit,

there's a special space
in Parul's ideal work world.

Wow. So this is the karaoke room,

and as you can see it's just
beautifully furnished.

You walk into this room
and you're like,

"Dopamine, dopamine, dopamine,
dopamine."

And there's so many different
textures, shapes, colours.

It's, you know, a bit of
an eclectic mix of things in here.

Actually just coming in here,

it's such a different vibe
to out there.

It's all about balance, really,

which sometimes can be
a bit hard for us to get.

So, it's like,
take a break in here, take...

You know, take your lunch,
have a little bit of fun,

get back into the zone,
get the work done.

There is a wide of support people
can access without a diagnosis.

But for those that do get one,
it can be incredibly empowering.

After I got diagnosed,

I felt like a weight
had been lifted,

like people would actually
know now.

I think that was probably the most
game-changing thing about

getting a diagnosis.
Like, I finally felt like

I was in control of my life rather
than life just happening to me.

So, there was, like, this big
wave of happiness and

sort of feeling validated
and feeling understood

and starting to be able
to forgive myself for all of

the stuff that had gone not so well.

Then I think there's also, like,
waves of grief that come in as well,

of like, "How could life have been
different if someone had

"figured this out sooner?"

I would put my arms around
the younger version of me,

the little boy that was
so scared of being different

and so fearful of
letting someone down

or encountering a rejection,

and saying that,
"The same things that are...

"The same things that are causing
this fear of rejection

"and anxiety of being different
are the same things that,

"when you're older, are going to be
your biggest assets."

One more.

I hope we've given you
some insight into

the official symptoms of ADHD.

And that hearing from others
has offered you some tips

and coping strategies,

and given you an understanding
of what an assessment entails.

I believe it's on all of us
to be more understanding

about what ADHD is.

And for those with the condition,

we need to recognise
their unique strengths,

abilities, and embrace the different
ways they think.

And if you think this sounds
like you, we embrace you too.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media