A growing number of people are pursuing an ADHD diagnosis while showing little interest in following through with treatment, according to psychiatrists who say the trend deserves closer study. Dr Marios Adamou, founder of the UK Adult ADHD Network, said many now treat the condition as a marker of identity rather than a clinical diagnosis, a shift he links to the rise of poor-quality private assessments.
Adamou said this pattern has fuelled a rise in formal complaints against clinicians who decline to accept low-quality assessments carried out elsewhere. He pointed to recent data showing that half of children diagnosed with ADHD do not go on to receive treatment, and said he has observed a comparable pattern among adult patients in his own practice.
He noted that some patients are less interested in structured treatment plans and more interested in obtaining small, non-clinical doses of stimulant medication.
A lot of people would benefit from having amphetamines. You feel better, you can focus better, you can do more. But there hasn't been a debate that this country should be cognitively augmented to increase productivity with stimulants.
Why do people feel they can identify with these conditions? They are manifestations of a societal problem.
Is ADHD a medical condition or a social construct?
Adamou's comments came ahead of the broadcast of a documentary fronted by NHS psychiatrist Dr Max Pemberton, who argues that ADHD functions more as a social construct than a strictly medical diagnosis. Pemberton contends that schools should be redesigned to accommodate a broader range of children instead of relying on medication to make pupils conform to narrower behavioural expectations.
Adamou takes a more layered position, describing ADHD as simultaneously a genuine brain-based disorder and a socially shaped label. He said neurological differences underpinning ADHD are well documented in research, and that diagnostic criteria have been through extensive scientific testing and validation.
the ADHD concept has been expanded so much, it's risking becoming meaningless … it's socially constructed now, it's something different than what it actually is.
He attributed much of this dilution to weak oversight of the expanding market for ADHD assessments.
Most of the assessment in the UK is now provided by the private sector. I don't think there's any other medical condition where the private sector provides as much care … When you have private providers providing the majority of care in a market system with a diagnosis that is commoditised, and attracts stimulants, you may have issues.
Even so, Adamou maintained that ADHD likely remains underdiagnosed overall, and that inconsistent assessment quality has created what he called a compounded stigma for genuine sufferers.
Not only do you have stigma because you have ADHD, but also there's stigma about whether you have real ADHD.
Why are diagnosis rates climbing so quickly?
Professor Dinesh Bhugra, a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists who also appears in the documentary, agreed that diagnoses have surged sharply without a clear explanation.
The question is why now, and why this? What is it providing? My fear is we medicalise normal human responses because it gives us the power as clinicians and it gives people the label which allows them to either feel they've got certain privileges or it gives them certain cachet in society.
Bhugra raised concerns in the documentary about profit-driven private firms stepping in to fill gaps left by an overstretched NHS, describing ADHD assessments as a lucrative opportunity for commercial providers.
Their responsibility is to the shareholders, not the general public.
He suggested the UK's reliance on checklist-based diagnostic tools mirrors an American model shaped by the demands of health insurers, reflecting a broader culture in which healthcare is treated as a purchasable commodity. Bhugra endorsed the documentary's call for reform toward a more holistic model that weighs social, biological and psychological factors together, rather than defaulting to medical treatment alone.
How are private providers responding to the criticism?
Jessica Lister, clinical director and consultant nurse at private provider Care ADHD, warned that framing ADHD purely as a social construct risks causing real harm.
Dismissing ADHD as a social construct doesn't just trivialise an established clinical condition – it perpetuates the inequalities faced by people with ADHD across education, health, employment and the justice system.
The question here isn't whether ADHD is a real medical problem – it's whether systems respond early enough, consistently enough and fairly enough to prevent avoidable harm … The real problems are long waits, inequitable access, inconsistent quality and too little joined-up support across health, education, care and employment.
Mark Pattison, chief executive of Care ADHD, argued that private providers should not be judged as a single group, saying his organisation's clinical governance matches standards he upheld during 15 years running NHS ADHD and mental health services.
Profit should never come before clinical quality. But efficiency isn't the enemy of it either.
Standards need to apply to everyone, not just us. Some NHS trusts have children waiting two, five, even 10 years for an assessment. That's not safe care, whoever provides it. Some private providers fall short too.
What does this mean beyond the clinic?
The debate over diagnosis and treatment reflects wider pressures already visible in British institutions grappling with rising neurodiversity awareness. Separate reporting has shown how ADHD is reshaping workplace disputes and employer obligations, following a tribunal award to a Lidl manager with the condition. Other research has also examined how menstrual cycles can influence ADHD symptoms in women, underlining how the condition's presentation and treatment needs can vary significantly between individuals.
The documentary, titled The Great ADHD Myth?, was broadcast on Tuesday 18 August 2026 at 8pm on a national television channel.
Key Facts
- Dr Marios Adamou, founder of the UK Adult ADHD Network, says roughly half of children diagnosed with ADHD do not pursue treatment.
- Most ADHD assessments in the UK are now carried out by private providers rather than the NHS.
- Professor Dinesh Bhugra, former head of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, warns of profit-driven firms filling gaps left by NHS strain.
- Private provider Care ADHD disputes the documentary's framing, citing long NHS waiting times of up to a decade in some trusts.
- The Great ADHD Myth? aired on 18 August 2026 at 8pm.
