When I started this blog, one of the absolute first principles I vowed to abide by was that I would not stand by and say nothing when I saw people spreading dangerous untruths, either through ignorance or malice. I have come to realise that with the rise of X.com and the Elon Musk era, where people get verified and rewarded for clicks, ignorance is far more dangerous than malice, as ignorance is harder to rebut and refute. People who spout ignorance are generally far harded to argue with. However if we stand by and say nothing, then their uninformed views become accepted and entrenched.
So what sparked this. Yesterday, this tweet popped onto my timeline.
ADHD is NOT over diagnosed, how can it be - it doesn’t exist. pic.twitter.com/LeefGyHpYZ
— Nick Buckley MBE (@NickBuckleyMBE) September 20, 2026
I don't follow this character and I'd not previously heard of him, but as he has an MBE and over 80,000 followers, I felt that some people may feel his tweet was an informed and intelligent view and that ADHD does not exist. He is totally incorrect. How do I know? My nephew who is now in his 40's has ADHD. He was born and raised in Florida. His father, now retired was one of the USA's most acclaimed ER doctors. During Tim's long career (he's 80 now) he told me he probably saved 10,000 lives. He was an executive for the corporation that had the contract for hospital services to the US Congress. Of all the people I know, Tim's expertise on medicine I would trust more than anyone on the planet. In short, he is a pre-eminent expert in the field of medicine, and as an ER doctor, working mainly in Miami, saw more different medical situations than almost anyone on the planet.
My nephew was chronically under performing at school. He was diagnosed with ADHD, by one of the pre-eminent pediatric consultants in the USA. My brother in law, theough his business connections, had access to the best medical practitioners in the USA, which has the most advanced medical system in the world. My nephew was prescribed with Ritalin. His grades improved and he eventually graduated with a degree in architecture.
So when I read Mr Buckley's tweet, I asked myself several questions. Firstly does he have a better knowledge of medicine than my brother in law, or his colleague who provided the diagnosis? I will donate £100 to the charity of his choice if he can prove he is, however from his profile there is no evidence at all. Secondly, does he believe that a man like my brother in law, who spent his life saving people's lives, would allow his own son to be prescribed a dangerous sunbstance, for no reason at all? Well maybe Nick Buckley thinks that, but to me the proposition is ridiculous. Which brings me to the third question. Is Nick Buckley being malign or simply ignorant by posting such a statement?
I have no idea at all. I am guessing that he has no experience of the condition. The article he commented on was that the Daily Mail stated that there was an over diagnosis. I am more than prepared to accept this. However when someone who has simply got an uninformed opinion on such a matter posts such a tweet, it cannot go unchallenged. I am sure I have many views that are incorrect, ill informed, stupid, etc. I am more than happy to listen to people who know what they are talking about and issue corrections when I am wrong.
Sadly, we live in a society where people get financially incentivised to post such things. The bottom line is people read such things, see his MBE and assume that he knows what he's talking about. When they then encounter someone with ADHD, they will mistakenly believe that they do not have a medically recognised condition. This can lead to bullying and discrimination etc. I don't understand why any decent person would post something like this. Do you?
Oh yeah, two other things. Firstly, in my family, I think that the person I am most proud of, who is still alive is my brother in law Tim. Imagine having 10,000 people being alive because you were good at your job. And I am proud of my nephew, who through bloody hard work and being lucky enough to have intelligent parents who wanted the best for him got a fantastic degree. That should tell you all you need to know.
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