ADHD charity criticises Channel 4 doc for calling disorder “a social construct”

An ADHD charity has hit out at a new Channel 4 documentary which called the disorder “a social construct”.

The Great ADHD Myth? aired on Channel 4 on Tuesday (August 18) and followed NHS psychiatrist Max Pemberton as he spoke to medical professions who doubt whether or not ADHD is a legitimate condition.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is recognised by the NHS, and symptoms include an ability to concentrate or sit still, high energy levels, poor time management, and being more likely to get distracted, lose things or be forgetful.

In the recent documentary, Pemberton explores how the last few years have seen a sharp rise in diagnoses – particularly among young children – and also conducts an experiment with a 10-year-old child with an ADHD diagnosis.

With the experiment, the child is taken off his ADHD medication and goes six weeks with less sugar, reduced screen time, and yoga classes – testing whether or not symptoms of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are actually caused by social factors. After the trial period, the parents decided to keep the child off medication, before reversing the move and reintroducing the tablets after seeing his performance in school negatively affected.

Since the show was aired, ADHD UK has hit out at the documentary and its claims that the disorder is merely “a social construct”.

In a statement, the charity encouraged people to complain to Ofcom about the show and shared: “ADHD is not a myth. It is not a social construct. And the programme’s own end credits told you what its 60 minutes wouldn’t: the boy at its centre went back on his medication, and his schoolwork improved.”

The statement continued: “Their experiment disproved their conclusion. They aired their version anyway. We have already complained to Ofcom. A fuller submission follows, built on the impact data you give us below. We deserve better than this.”

The charity’s chief executive, Henry Shelford also hit out at the show as being “one-sided”, “sensationalist nonsense”, and an attempt to “exacerbate myths”. He outlined that he had written to Channel 4 and asked them to make corrections to both the documentary’s title and content, and also criticised the decision to focus the show on the experience of just one child.

A unique and thought-provoking documentary that challenges conventional thinking about ADHD #TheGreatADHDMyth? Comes to @Channel4 tonight at 8pm pic.twitter.com/MuhBXSTz8b

— 4Viewers (@4Viewers) August 18, 2026

In response to the backlash, Channel 4 shared a statement with The Independent, acknowledging that the angle of the show was always going to be divisive, but reflected an ongoing debate happening across the UK.

“Channel 4 has a remit to stimulate public debate and challenge the status quo, which includes offering a platform to a range of different views across the broadness of our slate,” a spokesperson told the outlet.

“Not everyone will agree with everything included in the programme and we acknowledge the strength of feeling that this subject evokes, however there is considerable public debate in this area and testing conventional thinking and exploring different ideas, as is the case with The ADHD Myth?, is a legitimate part of Channel 4’s remit.

“Channel 4 has also aired a number of other programmes on the topic of ADHD, which cover a variety of other viewpoints including: Do You Have ADHD?, Johnny Vegas: Art, ADHD & Me and Sam Thompson: Is This ADHD?”

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