Let's Talk Neurosense: the psychology of neurodiversity

Dr Naomi Fisher and Dr Danielle Drinkwater
  • 3.5 (2)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Semiweekly

A podcast to discuss important issues about neurodiversity. neurosense.substack.com

  1. 6d ago

    S3 E1 Dyslexia and Diagnostic Dilemmas with Susie Colbert

    Susie brings a number of unique and valuable perspectives to the topic of neurodiversity and joins Naomi and I this week to to help us kickstart season 3. As well as working clinically as a psychologist and having her own diagnosis of dyslexia, Susie works as a tutor on one of the UK’s clinical psychology training programmes. She is also part of the British Psychological Society’s working group supporting researchers using the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF), a non-diagnostic alternative to working with emotional distress. Susie reports having found her dyslexia diagnosis incredibly helpful over the years, yet she also believes, as someone committed to evidence-based practice and to interrogating ideas, that dyslexia deserves the same critical eye (or as she might put it- ‘critique-ical’ eye) as any other diagnosis or psychiatric construct. Together we examine the conceptual overlaps between neurodivergent presentations, psychosis and other psychiatric presentations, as well as areas of difference. We talk about what it means that dyslexia now sits under the neurodiversity umbrella and the various implications of understanding things the way we do currently, as well as posing the question- ‘what’s the alternative?’ Here is a link to the Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia document mentioned in the episode. We’re committed to keeping Let’s Talk Neurosense free, but if you enjoy the podcast and would like to support our work, you can buy us a coffee here- This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit neurosense.substack.com

    S3 E1 Dyslexia and Diagnostic Dilemmas with Susie Colbert

  2. Aug 24

    BONUS: Why it matters how we talk about ADHD with Danielle Drinkwater and Naomi Fisher

    The Channel 4 documentary The Great ADHD Myth? has sparked a national conversation, and it’s a heated one. For some, it was a much needed balance to the dominant narrative, while for others it was a biased and dangerous polemic. One of the contributors to the Channel 4 programme, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Sami Timimi, argued in his book that the onus should be on those making claims about ADHD having a neurobiological cause to provide robust supporting evidence for such claims. The evidence often cited, he argues, is often overstretched and misinterpreted. Is he right? In this episode, we grapple with some of these issues. Naomi and I consider whether the documentary could have been framed differently, how diagnostic thresholds have changed and what this means for the research, the evidence behind claims that ADHD is a brain-based condition, how we talk about ADHD, and why all this matters. Here are some links to research and other sources referred to in the episode. Here is a link to webpage for Cambridge University’s Centre for Attention, Learning and Memory (CALM), and an ACAMH (Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health) interview with a representative from CALM summarising their research as having “so far revealed that behavioural problems, patterns of cognitive difficulties and neural profiles do not align with specific diagnoses”. There’s also this ACAMH paper’s podcast. Naomi spoke about this NYT article, and the RDoC and HiTOP research. This is the 2025 meta-analysis on brain imaging research we discussed. And for the clinical applications, journal article discussing differences between the ICD-11 and DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for ADHD, and posing the question, amongst other dilemmas and uncertainties- “do we threshold impairment against the average peer or the hypothetical potential of the individual?”. Episode of the podcast series Navigating Neuropsychology examining a detailed case study of a young woman, described as being extremely bright, and therefore whose “areas of personal weakness”, which were not considered to be low for her age group, contributed to her ADHD diagnostic decision. This episode offers a detailed exploration of how diagnosticians might consider differential diagnosis, and the uncertainty often involved with diagnostic assessments, but also shows how such uncertainty can quickly become lost following assessment, as seen in the title of the episode where the clinical case is introduced as a young adult with type 1 diabetes, mental health, and ADHD. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit neurosense.substack.com

    BONUS: Why it matters how we talk about ADHD with Danielle Drinkwater and Naomi Fisher

  3. Aug 22 ·  Bonus

    BONUS: Why we shouldn’t call ADHD a myth with Chris Benson

    The Channel 4 documentary The Great ADHD Myth? has polarised discussion, with one side saying that it was unbalanced and unscientific, while others say that it is a necessary challenge to the dominant narrative. ADHD UK raised concerns about it from before the programme aired, and in this special episode we sat down with Chris Benson, Education Lead for ADHD UK, to find out what he thought. Chris brings decades of experience in education as well as the lived experience of his own late diagnosis and having a daughter with ADHD and an autistic son. In this episode we talk about the reactions to the documentary, how Chris understands ADHD and his own experience, and the implications of all of this for children who are struggling at school. Here are some more information about the research and researchers referred to in this podcast. Long form NYT article about ADHD and the research. Hypercurious podcast featuring Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Anne-Laure Le Cunff and Eleanor Dommett talking about the neuroscience and controversies in ADHD research. Large-scale studies showing that those with a diagnosis of ADHD have a higher risk of road traffic accidents and that taking ADHD medication reduced the risk of suicidal behaviour, substance misuse and criminality. Recent study (mentioned by Dani in the podcast) which indicates that stimulant medication may not actually be working on attention, but may instead increase vigilance and make tasks more rewarding. Longitudinal study following up children who took ADHD medication which showed that childhood treatment did not improve longer term outcomes in adolescence such as grades, arrests or psychiatric hospitalisations. Large-scale study which found that taking ADHD medication in childhood was associated with shorter adult height and higher BMI. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit neurosense.substack.com

    BONUS: Why we shouldn’t call ADHD a myth with Chris Benson

  4. Aug 20 ·  Bonus

    BONUS: The Great ADHD Myth? with Lucy Johnstone

    The Guardian called it the most controversial show of the year. Amnesty International called on Channel 4 to make multiple changes before broadcast. ADHD UK complained to Ofcom. There was widespread fury on social media, with people arguing that the question posed in the Channel 4 documentary press release - is ADHD a neurodevelopmental disorder, or a social construct - was a dangerous one that could harm marginalised people. It is fair to say that the documentary The Great ADHD Myth? polarised people before anyone had seen it. And so when we had the opportunity to sit down with Lucy Johnstone, a consultant clinical psychologist who appeared in the documentary, we seized it with both hands. Lucy has a long history of thinking critically about the psychiatric classification system, but it is only more recently that she has started writing about neurodiversity. We asked her what she thought of the programme, what she made of the reaction and where she thinks we go from here. She told us about the importance of lived experience, about a lifetime spent asking difficult questions and why she thinks that the conversation about ADHD is preventing us from talking about the things that really matter. The blog series on neurodiversity Lucy wrote with John Cromby is here and her book A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Diagnosis can be found here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit neurosense.substack.com

    BONUS: The Great ADHD Myth? with Lucy Johnstone

  5. Aug 5

    S2 E10 The harms of facilitated communication with Janyce Boynton

    In the 1990s, Janyce Boynton was working as a speech and language clinician when she started using facilitated communication with a young non-speaking girl, Betsy. Through facilitated communication, Betsy started to make allegations about abuse at home. These were reported to the authorities and things quickly started to escalate. What happened next changed the course of Janyce’s life. Betsy was removed from her home and court proceedings were started. As part of the court process, controlled testing of facilitated communication was ordered by the judge. The results were clear. Betsy was not the author of the allegations. They were influenced by Janyce, without her being aware of it. Their story is told in the Prisoners of Silence documentary. In this fascinating interview, Janyce tells us what happened, and how she made the fateful decision to turn towards the evidence. She told us why she has felt that it’s imperative to continue sharing her story and informing people about the harm that can be done by facilitated communication. She explains how the illusion of facilitated communication is created and why it can appear so compelling. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit neurosense.substack.com

    S2 E10 The harms of facilitated communication with Janyce Boynton

  6. Jul 29

    S2 E9 How not to improve outcomes for autistic people with Aleida Verhoeven

    Aleida Verhoeven understands disability from many angles. She’s autistic herself and also has other disabilities. But in addition, she works in Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme as the equivalent of a case manager, primarily with autistic people. She tells us about the situation in Australia, where, as she puts it, they have some of the highest disability spend in the world, yet some of the poorest outcomes. We discuss the reasons why that might be, and Aleida explained how she sees a misalignment between what autistic people need and what is being provided. Aleida has some very forthright opinions and this conversation was an insight for Dani and I into how things work over the other side of the world. We hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks for reading Let's Talk Neurosense: the psychology of neurodiversity! Subscribe for free to hear about each new episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit neurosense.substack.com

    S2 E9 How not to improve outcomes for autistic people with Aleida Verhoeven

  7. Jul 22

    S2 E8 What the critics of masking miss with Richard Smith

    Richard has spent his whole career working with autistic adults. He initially worked in a diagnostic assessment service before moving into his current role in an intensive support team for autistic adults. He is a prolific poster in online discussions about neurodiversity, and has written about some of this on his Substack. In this interview, Richard explained how his experience has enabled him to look beneath behaviour and the formal diagnostic criteria to identify underlying processes common amongst autistic people. He tells us how he thinks that those who criticise concepts such as masking miss the serious impact on autistic people’s lives. He talks about how he feels that better awareness and less stigma has enabled more people to come forward for diagnostic assessment, and how he sees this as a positive change. Join Naomi, Richard and I as we wrestle with some of the big questions, such as whether masking is unique to autism, the specificity and reliability of an autism diagnosis, how funding and resources should be allocated and whether we should be talking about diagnosis at all. We certainly don’t agree on everything, but I do think we manage to hold space for different perspectives and put some of the popular ideas in neurodiversity discourse under the spotlight. Do let us know what this episode brings up for you. Thanks for listening to Let's Talk Neurosense: the psychology of neurodiversity! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support the podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit neurosense.substack.com

    S2 E8 What the critics of masking miss with Richard Smith

  8. Jul 15

    S2 E7 Saying no to diagnosing our son with Chrissie Blackburn

    When Chrissie’s son Daniel started school, the teacher asked her on first day why they had not told her that he had an emotional disability. Later, he explained that he was terrified of being inside tall buildings. He was scared and so he hid under tables. Daniel found school expectations hard, and school found it hard to manage Daniel. The school needed extra support and wanted to refer him for a diagnostic assessment. Chrissie and her husband Paul could see that everyone needed more help and extra funding - but they didn’t want to give Daniel a label that he would have no choice but to carry with him for life. Since then, Chrissie and her family have been navigating education and social systems that increasingly understand the world in what they consider to be binary or overly simplistic ways. She describes here the difficult position of trying to be an appreciative friend to other parents and thoughtful psychologist whilst opposing the languages and practices that risk defining children and reducing possibilities for wellbeing and change. Daniel is now in his twenties, and Chrissie tells us how they have found ways through the system for him. She also told us how she thinks this has been for Daniel, and how it has affected how he sees himself. She is talking to us with his consent. This is a really unusual story and we hope you’ll find it interesting. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit neurosense.substack.com

    S2 E7 Saying no to diagnosing our son with Chrissie Blackburn
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A podcast to discuss important issues about neurodiversity. neurosense.substack.com

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