The Science or Fiction Podcast

Our very first live episode recording is here! Thank you to everyone who joined at the Science Gallery London and online, it was lovely to meet so many of you!

In case you missed it, this week we hosted our first live podcast recording with ADHD experts Ellie Dommett and Shauna Campbell on self-diagnosing ADHD. For our sold-out event, we hosted an interview and audience Q+A, we had a subscription raffle where the winner took home a stack of popular science books signed by the authors (congratulations Lise!), and everyone took home a Science or Fiction Live tote bag. Make sure you subscribe to be the first to hear about the next live recording!

In this episode, we sift through the speculation around self-diagnosis of ADHD. Why are rates of ADHD increasing? How can we use social media as a tool to understand ADHD but still be conscious of the quality? Should we be worried about online self-diagnosis?

This episode answers these questions. We learnt so much from the experts—Ellie Dommett is a Professor of Neuroscience and lead of the ADHD Research Lab, and Shauna Campbell is the Podcast Director of ADHD Babes, an award-winning community organisation for Black women and non-binary people with ADHD.

As always, the resources and recommendations from the interview are below, as well as links to free mental health support. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the event or the episode! Just respond to this email or send us a message on social media.

Resources and recommendations

* Journal article discussed: Yeung and colleagues (2022), TikTok and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study of Social Media Content Quality

* Ellie also mentioned the diagnostic manuals DSM and ICD, you can read more about them here and here

* Ellie talked about this systematic review on digital media use and ADHD symptoms and this meta-analysis on screentime and child ADHD

* How to ADHD - content on tools and strategies created by ADHDer Jessica McCabe

* ADHD Babes - community organisation for Black women and non-binary people with ADHD

* ADHD UK – platform created by people with ADHD for people with ADHD with evidence-based support and resources

* ADHD Foundation - neurodiversity charity with support and resources

* Information on how to apply for access to work support can be found here

Help and support

If you are affected by any of the issues discussed in the episode, you can access free support via the following links:

Samaritans contact information: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

The Mix online chat and phone helplines for under 25s: https://www.themix.org.uk/get-support

Thank you to the ESRC Social Science Festival 2024 for funding this event. Thank you to Lucy Foulkes, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Ellie Middleton and David Speigelhalter for donating books to the raffle!