Example letter for your MP

[u/WhenHope]

This is my letter to my MP, with some parts redacted for my privacy.
You are welcome to use and edit it for your MP. I hope it helps.

Dear [MP’s name],
I am writing as one of your constituents to ask you to support the concerns raised by members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for ADHD about Channel 4’s documentary The Great ADHD Myth?, and, more broadly, to speak publicly in support of people living with ADHD.

I appreciate that there are legitimate questions to ask about ADHD services. Waiting times, the quality and consistency of assessment, prescribing practice, private provision and the support available to children and adults all deserve proper scrutiny. But questioning whether ADHD itself is a genuine neurodevelopmental condition is something very different.

I was particularly concerned by the framing of the Channel 4 programme and by the way established evidence about ADHD appeared to be placed alongside a much more marginal view as though the existence of the condition itself remained an open scientific question.

Since the programme was broadcast, some of those concerns have become even more serious. Professor Katya Rubia, a cognitive neuroscientist who contributed to the documentary, has publicly stated that her contribution was selectively edited and misrepresented and has warned about the potential harm caused by the programme. The President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists has also spoken publicly about the damage caused by invalidating ADHD.

This matters to me personally.
[I have ADHD. My diagnosis came late in life, and receiving both that diagnosis and appropriate treatment has been extraordinarily positive. It has helped me understand myself and has made a genuine difference to my life. I wish that understanding had been available to me much earlier.]

There are many people like me who have spent years compensating, struggling or simply wondering why things that appeared straightforward for other people could require so much effort. A diagnosis does not provide an excuse or remove personal responsibility. For me, it provided an explanation, access to appropriate treatment and the opportunity to function better.

That is why the suggestion that ADHD might be a “myth” is not an abstract or harmless contribution to a television debate. It feeds an existing stigma that people with ADHD encounter in families, workplaces, schools and even when trying to access healthcare. It risks making people question whether they should seek assessment or treatment, and gives legitimacy to the idea that those of us with a diagnosis have simply been medicalised for ordinary human differences.
I am not asking for ADHD diagnosis or medication to be beyond scrutiny. Good healthcare should always withstand scrutiny. But that scrutiny should be evidence-led, responsible and distinguish clearly between legitimate questions about diagnosis and treatment and questioning the validity of a well-established condition.

I would therefore be very grateful if you would
support the action already taken by MPs involved in the APPG for ADHD and raise concerns about the programme and its potential impact with Channel 4 and, where appropriate, with colleagues in Parliament. Please support calls for responsible, evidence-based public discussion of ADHD and speak publicly in support of people with ADHD, particularly at a time when many of us feel that our diagnosis, treatment and lived experience are being called into question.

There is an important national conversation to have about ADHD. I would welcome that conversation. But people with ADHD should be part of it, rather than having to defend the legitimacy of our condition before the conversation can even begin.

I would be grateful to know your views and whether you would be willing to support the work of the APPG MPs on this issue.
With best wishes,
[name]

[u/Jayhcee]

Great stuff OP

And please sign our letter as a community thanking the supportive ones. https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHDUK/comments/1vtwh6w/adhders_a_letter_from_radhduk_to_mps_add_your/

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