Concerta pills ADHD medication are seen in this illustration photo in Warsaw, Poland on 13 February, 2024. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
The UK’s Channel 4 has ordered a new documentary that will examine the rise of ADHD diagnoses and consider whether the cause of that rise might be due to the tech and stimulation-heavy environment in which kids are now growing up.
The 60-minute documentary will be hosted by Dr Max Pemberton, a full-time NHS psychiatrist.
According to data from the National Health Service (NHS), there has been a 200% increase in the number of people being referred for an ADHD diagnosis between 2020 and 2025.
The big question for medical professionals is WHY there is this rise in referral. While ADHD is widely accepted as a real condition, there is no clear sense of why someone may have it. Is ADHD actually a neurodevelopmental disorder? Do people with ADHD have differently wired brains? Or does our world – with phones, ultra-processed food, and regimented education system – serve as the catalyst for certain responses and patterns of behavior?
And given that the cause of ADHD is known, should we give mind-altering drugs to young people as the default way of treating the condition?
The Great ADHD Myth hopes to provide more context for these questions, and perhaps provide a bit of guidance for parents and other professions struggling with these questions.
In a statement announcing the project, Pemberton said that “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,” he continued. “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.”
As part of the documentary, Pemberton will speak with experts in the field from both sides of the discussion. And he will meet with a young family who want to see whether holistic lifestyle changes can eliminate one boy’s use of ADHD medication.
The Great ADHD Myth will premiere in 2027 on Channel 4.