Biography

ADHD & Neurodiversity Specialist

Dr Tom Nicholson is an Assistant Professor of Mental Health Nursing at Northumbria University and a keynote-speaker, trainer, and advocate for ADHD. His research explores the lived experiences of parents of ADHD children and the tension between medical and neurodiversity paradigms of ADHD. Dr Tom is a registered mental health nurse with experience working within the neurodevelopmental assessment service within the Children and Young People’s service. Diagnosed with ADHD in childhood, Tom uses his personal lived experience of ADHD alongside his clinical and academic background to give a multitude of perspectives to his work.

Seeing ADHD from Both Sides: Navigating Nuance In How We Talk About ADHD

How we see ADHD as a society determines the care people get within services, the narrative within wider society, what research is funded and completed, and the way we treat ADHD’ers everywhere. There are currently two significantly different ways in which people see or conceptualise ADHD. In a medical model, ADHD is a debilitating disorder requiring treatment to reduce disability. However, the neurodiversity/social model describes ADHD as normal human variation, desirable, or even a superpower. Which is right? This talk will explore the strengths and issues within each of these competing ways of thinking, and help you find a nuanced middle ground which takes the best of both worlds to help us bridge the gap between these seemingly competing views.

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