Nowadays you would be forgiven for believing that everyone and their dog has a diagnosis for ADHD, given the number of times it’s heard in casual conversation.

But while I find the uptake in awareness a positive thing, I can’t help but feel irritated at the amount of self-diagnosed folk coming out of the woodwork, based on the fact that most people’s understanding of the condition is tied up with the misconception that those who have it suffer with an inability to pay attention.

At first I wondered why anybody would want to be labelled as “neurodiverse”, given that I’ve spent my whole life with a diagnosis that was largely ignored by everyone – so much so that I joke about how the now outdated term ‘ADD’ stood for “A Disappointing Daughter” when I was first anointed.

It was one of those things that wasn’t really acknowledged, let alone understood, and if spoken about at all it was done from the side of the mouth, usually covered with a hand and accompanied by a sideways glance from the dinner lady.

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Given that ADHD (Attention........

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