Channel 4’s documentary The Great ADHD Myth? has caused much controversy since airing last month. Dr Philippa Savage, whose son was diagnosed in his late teens, argues that churches must do more to nurture the gftings and talents that come with neurodiversity
Contrary to what you may have seen broadcast on Channel 4 recently, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is not a myth. Nor, in my opinion, is it a ‘disorder’. It’s a well described, well researched, well evidenced neurodevelopmental difference. Which means that people who have ADHD develop differently.
It is also not a problem until it’s a problem. Plenty of people have ADHD and thrive. I treat adult patients only and many of them have lived perfectly normal lives - until their ADHD has become a problem (more on this later).
My son finds that his ADHD is a real gift in evangelism; he can talk to anyone about Jesus
They are brilliant paramedics, excelling in major crises, probation officers managing complex offenders, arts council representatives who are great at networking and fundraising, journalists responding to breaking news, radio presenters, comedians, pastors, evangelists and worship leaders using their quick thinking to communicate and entertain.
For many, ADHD is what makes them brilliant at their job. But there are times when it becomes a problem, for a whole range of different reasons.
A growing problem
50 years ago, if you lived in the northeast of England - which is where I am from - and you weren’t ‘academic’, the main industry for school leavers was coal mining, an occupation where someone with ADHD may well thrive. Today, school leavers are offered call centre jobs, sitting in front of a computer for hours each day, something a person with ADHD will definitely struggle with.
The move to hotdesking and open plan offices also has major unintended consequences for people with ADHD, who find the noise and distraction of such environments exhausting. Attention-degrading social media disproportionality affects people with ADHD. The move to a more ‘academic’ curriculum, and the decline of sport, art, drama, home economics, textiles and music, also has an impact. Double maths followed by PE may be manageable. Double maths followed by another four hours of staring at a powerpoint, is not. Grades fall and behaviour deteriorates.
The argument that “ADHD wasn’t a thing previously” simply isn’t true. The adult ADHD patients I see have common themes – many of them were ‘class clowns’ at school; truanting is a common story. Many failed exams first time round and either re-sat them or did vocational training instead. Some dropped out of university, overwhelmed with the additional organisational demands of first year.
We all know people like this. But when diagnoses are missed, it can lead to more serious issues. Adults who struggle with maintaining employment or relationships, feelings of shame or failure, depression, addiction, sometimes suicide. A quarter of the prison population have ADHD. Many who do get diagnosed feel great relief that they are not just ‘lazy’ or ‘stupid’ and there is an explanation for what has happened in their lives.
Life stages
There are also life stages in which ADHD can become a problem, such as caring for kids and elderly relatives while also trying to work and manage menopause. Or when people contract a chronic illness and can’t do the things they used to do to mitigate their ADHD symptoms.
My son was a bright kid who didn’t really need to work to get good grades - until he got to A-Levels. When he needed to get the bus into the city every day to get to sixth form college, manage his free periods, part-time job and a much more academic workload, he could no longer cope. His attendance and grades plummeted.
Once we found out that he had ADHD and he began taking medication, his grades improved dramatically and he is now at university. He has brilliant support from the student support services, with weekly mentoring to keep him on track and software that has made revision more manageable.
ADHD and church
He has also found a church that works for him, and a calling to evangelism. He finds that his ADHD is a real gift in this area; he can talk to anyone about Jesus. At these times, he doesn’t take his ADHD medication. But he does need it when he has a lecture, an assignment or ‘life admin’ to do. So, for him, like many people, ADHD isn’t a problem all the time.
People with ADHD need support to recognise their strengths, find suitable employment and be supported in their calling - both in the community and church. It’s not enough just to diagnose and medicate. And you cannot “pray ADHD away”, as some Christians suggest. This approach tells a person with ADHD that, fundamentally, they are defective in some way; that ADHD is something they need to get rid of.
Instead, prayer should be focused on how the church can work with the individual and their family. We are one body with many parts (see 1 Corinthians 12:12) - and people with ADHD are a vital part of that body. What is their gift or calling? How can they be supported in that?
What if people with ADHD went to church and found it a place where they can thrive and are valued? We need more research and better guidance on how to support people with ADHD in church. If we don’t do this, we risk losing some of the most creative people in the body, and the Church will be so much poorer for that.
So, let’s rise to the challenge, educate ourselves and embrace the brilliant ADHD Christians in our midst.
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