We Need to Talk about Rory

Why Hate Speech is Never Acceptable

I want to note that this guy being ratioed, a public figure masquerading as a journalist, has 2,000 fewer followers on Twitter, than me, a socially inept nerd constructed of equal parts rage and autism.

Roughly a week ago I opened up LinkedIn of all places and was hit by a barrage of women with ADHD complaining about bad reporting from the BBC. Apparently a reporter had infiltrated ADHD and neurodiverse forums in some cases openly and in some cases apparently posing as a neurodiverse person and interviewed or spoke to a number of people with ADHD. That part is actually fine. He was invading safe spaces and, as it was later revealed, taking advantage of the trust of people who are predisposed to be guileless, but it’s okay to gather evidence and listen to people’s lived experience.

But the reason the ADHD community was up in arms was what he actually wrote and reported.

The reality of a typical ADHD diagnosis in the UK is that it takes years and years to be diagnosed,* one is often referred to a private clinic which costs money usually not covered by the NHS, medication is hard to obtain, and women and people of colour are largely excluded from the narrative. White men with ADHD despite having all the advantages still often wait years for their diagnosis and medication. The only two real ways around this are to be diagnosed abroad or to have a robust bank account and a lot of influence to throw at the problem.