February 18th 2000
Andrea Bilbow of ADD Information Services (ADDISS) appeared on TV tonight in Right To Reply on UK Channel 4 at 7.30 p.m.
Apparently the Ricki Lake Show on Channel 4 last week gave a tough time to some ADHD kids who had been giving their parents a hard time. Lots of booing etc., and little or no understanding of the condition they suffer from. Channel 4 had a lot of complaints so they asked Andrea to backup one of the complainants on the consumer program Right To Reply, which allows viewers to comment on shows they have seen in the previous week.
The complainant, a teacher, was horrified by the way the children were treated on the show and Andrea backed this up by stating that one of the main problems with ADHD is the low self esteem and that putting these children in this "freak show" wasn't helping their self esteem at all. It was later revealed that one of the children had suicidal tendencies so let's hope this story doesn't end in tragedy.
Simon Hensby for ADDers.org