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BBC Breakfast and Paul Whitehouse on ADHD

Mr T

Although this segment on the show was primarily about ADHD and the success of a podcast regarding ADHD hosted by Paul Whitehouse and his wife.

I found some of the things that Paul was replying in relation to the BBC presenters questions to be the total opposite of inclusivity. He frequently uttered there is 'nothing wrong me' compared to his wife who is ADHD and was talking about how it effects her.

Whilst I recognise that Paul is a comedian, I found his utterances to be problematic. Not everyone will get the implied humour he was using to answer some awkward questions regarding him being potentially ADHD and will take the 'nothing wrong with me' as a reinforcement of the ableist view that neurodivergent people have something wrong with them.

If I'm being over picky I am sorry but when he said that I had a feeling of uneasiness.

What do others think or care? 

  • I've not seen the interview, but after reading your post on Friday evening, I stumbled across the following website:
    https://www.imadhdnoyourenot.com/

    Part-way down the 'Home' page, Paul's wife explains what the podcasts are about. She states:

    Paul typifies the archetypal sceptic, challenging the very concept of ADH‘D’ – partly due to its unfit-for-purpose definition, the recent ‘explosion’ in diagnoses (particularly within the world of comedy) and, the fact that many symptoms present, to a lesser extent, in neurotypical individuals. I provide the theoretical backfill and counter-argument to Paul’s challenges.


    As Paul's role in the podcasts is to be the archetypal sceptic, and the interview was about the success of those podcasts, it makes sense to me that he would continue to play that role in an interview. I would like to think the majority of viewers would have realised Paul's utterances were meant in jest, and also realised that if he really was an archetypal sceptic, it's unlikely that he and his wife would have got together in the first place.

  • I didn’t see this, so can’t speak to this interview. Although I do agree with you that his use of language does seem a little ignorant. Also what must his wife think about his framing of something being “wrong” to have ADHD? 

    I saw an advert for this podcast last week and to me it seemed as though the premise for the show was that Paul Whitehouse was there to try to disprove ADHD even existed and his partner was there for the counter argument. It seemed incredibly irresponsible and even dangerous.

    I was hoping I’d got the wrong end of the stick with my assumption but from what you saw in the interview, perhaps I didn’t. 

  • in reply to Mr T

    Sorry haha I have a hard time understanding humour Grimacing

  • in reply to Bellathewhiterabbit

    It was more that the automatic reply of 'nothing wrong with me' which annoyed me.

    I have been subjected to ableism in my workplace and found it misguided at the least to try to portray this as a deficit rather than a difference.

    His wife did attempt to argue against the deficit notion of the diagnostic title.

    I just wondered if anyone picked up on this. By the look on his wife's face he will be getting a new set of earings to wear! Joy

  • Hello Sparkles

    I think it's fair to feel offended or to simply disapprove the joke, I personally don't think anything of it, I didn't get it at all but one thing I always like to keep in mind when I have a strong opinion about something is that our reactions are ours and that is way more important than what other people are saying, dykwim?

    Like if you're having some sort of feelings about it, it's always good to look inside and figure out why it bothers you so much cos it could be something unresolved. 

    You don't have to take my advice, it's just what I do but I hope it helps :)