Sunday Mail (UK)

Gow slow drivers

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Motorists in Glasgow are among the slowest in the UK. A survey found that drivers in Sheffield were the most ca reful , fol lowed by Southampto­n and Glasgow.

He said: “This new documentar­y is very provocativ­e and inflammato­ry – and that’s not helpful.

“For people with ADHD, these drugs are taken for a medical issue, not a social one.

“Ma ny pe opl e w ith ADHD feel self-conscious about it and one of my biggest worries about this programme is that people with ADHD will watch it and feel they need to keep the medication they are on a secret.

“I worry this programme will make it more difficult for people with ADHD to talk about it with their employers, family and friends, which is what makes life easier.”

The Netf lix documentar­y, which was executive produced by Maria Shriver and daughter Christina Schwarzene­gger, draws attention to the improper use of drugs intended only for people with ADHD being used by those who believe they will help sharpen their minds and improve grades and performanc­e.

These stimulant drugs , including Ritalin and Adderall, are only available on prescripti­on.

But the film shows their mass use in America by everyone from students and athletes to stockbroke­rs and computer code writers, who believe the drugs will help them get ahead in a hyper-competitiv­e world. Between two and four per cent of the adult population in the UK is estimated to suffer from ADHD. Daniel believes the film fails to show the impact having ADHD can have on a person’s life. He has launched a motion at the Scottish Parliament asking for concern about the film to be noted and calling on the Scottish Government to bring forward plans to update guidance on the condition for the NHS. He wants to see steps taken to reduce the stigma surroundin­g ADHD and the drugs those with the condition are prescribed. The dad of two said: “There are three types ty of ADHD – the hyperactiv­e type, ty the inattentiv­e type and people who w have a combinatio­n of both.

“Ever yone focuses on the hyperactiv­e hy people but I had the inattentiv­e in type. I was the daydreamer dr at the back of the class, which w is why my condition was missed m when I was a child.

“Then, about five years ago, I hit a crisis cr point – my work/life balance was w a mess, my family life was similar. sim My wife Jackie suggested I might have ADHD and that led me downo the path to my diagnosis.

“It was my diagnosis of ADHD and an prescripti­on I was given that gave me the space and capacity to deal with the issues I had.

“The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence describe drug therapy as the first-line legitimate treatment for adults with ADHD and for school-age children with the most severe form.

“We have tighter rules around access to prescripti­ons than in America, so my understand­ing is that the abuse of ADHD drugs raised in the Netflix documentar­y is not such an issue here.

“But we shouldn’t be demonising a category of drugs without looking at why they might legitimate­ly be used and at the benefit they give to people who, for medical reasons, need to take them.”

 ??  ?? FILM Maria Shriver and her daughter Christina STIMULANT Adderall tablets
FILM Maria Shriver and her daughter Christina STIMULANT Adderall tablets

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