I Spoke About ADHD on Channel 5! This Is What It Actually Feels Like...

This is my full interview from Channel 5, where I sat down to talk about what ADHD and autism actually feel like - not the stereotype, the real experience.

I was diagnosed with autism at 4 and ADHD at 9, and nearly got excluded from school in my first week. Not because I was "bad", but because I couldn't sit still, I wanted to move, explore, and learn in a different way.

We get into what it's like growing up misunderstood, how school can get it wrong, and what's actually going on inside your head when you have ADHD.

This is the reason I started The Danifesto - because there are still people out there going through this with no support, no understanding, and no one explaining it properly.

If you've ever felt like you don't fit the system, this episode will make sense.

Big thanks to I'm ADHD, No You're Not, Channel 5 and Dan Walker for making this happen.

And Dr Mine Conkbayir MBE who made the whole thing happen!

(Interview originally aired on Channel 5)

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Now, if you don't have ADHD or autism, and none of your friends or family do either, you might think there's not much point in listening to a podcast about it. Well, you'd be wrong. I'm H D A D I'm ADHD, no you're not, is hosted by the comedian Paul Whitehouse and his wife, Dr. Minna Chonkba here. And it's all about tackling misconceptions about those conditions. And for their latest episode, they're joined by 16-year-old podcaster Daniel Evans, who talks about his experience with neurodiversity. Here is a little taster.

Dan 0:31

I wish every teacher knew that when you're talking to them, you're not just in their minds. You've got hundreds, if not thousands, of voices in their minds going like, what should I what did I have for breakfast last week? What did I met? What am I doing after school? Yeah. Why does he fell asleep? Why is he picking his nose? You know what I mean? We all overlap each other and how tiring that could be as well.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

It's lovely to see you all in the studio. Uh Dan, can I can I start with you? Because we spoke, didn't we, a couple of years ago about your podcast and this programme. What was it like for you to go on and talk about ADHD on their podcast?

Dan 1:09

It was a bit surreal, to be honest, because I've I've watched their stuff uh when I was planning to have me podcast. So I was in online looking looking at them, looking up to them, and then to get an email saying, Would you like to go on? Oh, it was like weird, but like so good in a way. Because I've been looking up to them, and Paul, I've I've I've you know watched you with my dad having a heart attack, and um you know I cause it.

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Yeah, you're to pay.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Um my mum's read loads of your books as well, so it's just a pleasure to just be on. And and what did you guys who've been doing this for a long time, had all sorts of guests on? I mean, what did you learn from from talking to Dan?

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Just how difficult it is to be a neurodivergent child and teen in the mainstream education system. He was locked in a cupboard by his teacher, you know. It's just we laugh. No, that's take that out. There's so much ignorance around ADHD that I think just needs to be smashed. It really does. And if our podcast can help these dialogues and help to change misperceptions about what it is to be ADHD, then I'm all for it. And I think we are making a difference.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

Well, I hope so. Also, we've had some really high profile guests, and we had Helen George, you know, an exclusive with her, and and that was fantastic. We've got people like Gary Newman, we've had John Leiden on. It's alphabetic spaghetti. And then we get Dan on, and he speaks more eloquently than most of them, you know. And he's a scouter.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Is that a good impression, Dan? Is it how many problems did I do my dodgy scouts?

SPEAKER_02 2:45

Yeah, it was only when I did George, Alison True.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

That's a very good form of beat all that. Um and for those that who are haven't haven't listened or don't know much about the podcast, it's called ADHD Dr. Dot No You're Not. And that's not that's not you having a pop in it, is it?

SPEAKER_02 3:02

That's No, it's I'm ADHD, no you're not. Because there is such a we went to see a comedy show, didn't we? And five of the six, seven acts that came on walked out and said, Good evening, I'm ADHD. And it was like suddenly we thought, well, we really need, you know, we need to like have a look at this, especially where comedians are concerned, seems to be it everywhere. And I I think the comedy mind benefits in a way from from having ABD tendencies. But it did seem like it was prevalent, wasn't it? And like, and and you wanted to do the podcast anyway. I was a bit reluctant initially, but that tipped it over for me. I thought, oh, we've got to have a look at this, you know.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

One of my main reasons for wanting to do it, having had a late diagnosis at the age of 43, is because I was always thinking it was around the complex trauma that I'd been diagnosed with and the anxiety and the depression. And that's very similar for a lot of girls and women who have been later diagnosed with ADHD. Oh, I thought it was anxiety, it was depression, because it manifests very differently than how it does for boys and men. So to get those female voices on has been really liberating.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

So you you were diagnosed at 43, which is the opposite end of the scale to Dan. Talk us through what happened to you, Dan. As young as four, is that right? Yeah, so uh um I got diagnosed with autism at four and then ADHD at nine. And and Meme was talking about what you went through at school. Do you mind talking about that? How did it work for you? What was that journey like?

Dan 4:32

So um nursery was okay, they knew something was off, but they couldn't really pinpoint it. And then as soon as I joined um primary school in um in reception and primary school, they wanted to exclude me in like the first week or something. And um and my mum was like, oh no, that's I can you know what what can I do? And what what were you what were you doing? What what did they see about you that was making you want them want to do that? They were just instead of sitting down, I was walking around, I was wanting to be outside, I just wanted to explore and just wanted I didn't want to sit still. Yeah, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 5:08

We should encourage that really, yeah.

Dan 5:10

You should encourage like curiosity and wanting to learn more because that's what education is. Education is being creative and problem solving. And go on.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

It's just interesting, isn't it? Because I how how do you how do we manage manage might not be the right word, by the way? If I say anything you think don't say that, or I've said something that's equal to it. No, we like it.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

You like putting your foot in it for you.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Well, you pick me up on it, because I think that's really important as part of the education.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

It is, you're no, you're absolutely right. But you know, look, it's tough for teachers there. It's I think it's one of the toughest jobs, and uh, you know, most people would run screaming from being a teacher, but it is we do have to try and develop ways to understand and involve children like Dan without castigating them and putting them on meds necessarily.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Well, can I ask you? Because I mentioned that you guys were on a couple of years ago, and do you think it's the conversation is more informed now than it was? We we were talking outside, weren't we, about last was it last September the president said there was a link between autism and tyrannology.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

President Trump. Yes. The world's most intelligent man. I think we'll take what he whatever he says with a pinch of salt because he'll have forgotten what he said and contradict himself within five minutes.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

But but that's part of the discussion, that's what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

It's tricky to answer to you know, with regard to how far we've progressed because as long as ADHD is in the DSM, then I don't think we've made enough progress because that is a big book of mental disorders, that's what it is. I also don't agree that it's a disability, and a lot of people will go, no, of course it is, you don't know how it impacts my life. I do because I am an ADHD, but I also believe wholeheartedly that it is a natural variation in how our brains work.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Which is why you don't like it being called a disorder, you'd rather it's called a different way.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

We don't have a mental disorder, it's a neurotype, absolutely, but in the right environment with the right support network, we can absolutely thrive. And this is why we have legislation protecting us, you know, the Equality Act 2010. Um, you know, employers have a legal responsibility to provide reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent people to help them survive and do the best they can.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Your podcast is very successful, but I've got to say, his has got a much better name.

SPEAKER_03 7:24

It's really and Dan, what what do you want to do with your podcast?

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Is it about education? Is it about showing people what you're going through and what others are feeling?

Dan 7:36

So when I was younger, I had a I I I was just misunderstood most of the time. And it really scares me that there's people out there who have a in in the world or in in the UK or anywhere who don't have that support that I had when I was younger. And it scares me as well because the school I go to is an SNN school, one of the best schools like ever, in my opinion. Classrooms are like classes are six, like six, seven or something. And it's just who's who's told you to get six. Who's told you who's told you to get six seven in this instance? Somebody somewhere so um um about five or six, let's say that so about five about five for classes about five or six, but there's people five. Yeah, yeah, so it it really scares me because there's people out there who haven't got that support, who haven't got that education that I did, and they must be going through a lot. So I want my podcast to be something where they can like kind of like lean on.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Yeah.

Dan 8:36

So you know how people watch entertainment for like pleasure, and you know, well, I want I want it to be like a platform where people can go and they might, oh that that sounds a bit like me when I was younger. Maybe maybe I need to go through a diagnosis.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

I hope you don't mind me telling you, you are a phenomenal ambassador. It's been a speaking to these two a few years ago is good, but you've taken up a not, is it okay?

SPEAKER_03 8:56

It's incredible, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Damn. Thank you, Dan. Uh the podcast is out today. Yep. If you want to listen to more of these three, with me and Daniel. The Danifesto is also available.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Get around to talking Vicario.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

But what's what's wrong with Vicario? Is that a hernia rot? Oh, okay. Anything else you want to talk about?

SPEAKER_02 9:15

We're already about to be relegated, and now our first trust goalie's out.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

You don't have to get Spurs into every single conversation. Or football chat next time is on, okay? And when Spurs aren't in the Premier League anymore.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

A lot of time on being.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

Thank you very much, guys. Thank you very much for watching as well. We'll see you uh tomorrow at five on five from all of us. See you soon.