Researchers call for more respectful language in ADHD research
21 July 2025
Researchers from the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health have contributed to a new Lancet Psychiatry publication calling for more compassionate and inclusive language in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) research.
Dr Joanna Martin and Isabella Barclay co-authored the article as part of a European Special Interest Group from EUNETHYDIS (European Network for ADHD), made up of researchers from across Europe, including individuals with lived experience of ADHD.
Together, they aim to raise awareness of how the language used in research and clinical settings can influence public understanding of ADHD, influence self-perception for people with lived experience of ADHD, affect people’s involvement in research, and even impact access to care.
The article titled ‘The power of words: respectful language in ADHD research,’ recommends that researchers reflect carefully on their terminology, especially terms that may unintentionally stigmatise individuals with ADHD, such as “disease”, “abnormal”, “unhealthy”, or “deficit”.
The group highlights the shift taking place in psychiatry toward neurodiversity-affirming approaches and encourages the field of ADHD research to follow suit by embracing language that reflects the environmental context and the strengths and diversity of individuals with ADHD.
The article offers a series of reflective questions to guide researchers in choosing more respectful, non-judgmental language, and stresses the importance of moving away from overly medicalised or deficit-focused descriptions of ADHD.
Dr Joanna Martin, co-lead of the Special Interest Group and senior author on the article, said:
“The words we use in research matter, especially to the people the research is for and about. We need to work towards neuro-affirmative, inclusive, and compassionate language that respects people with ADHD.”
The piece notes that respectful language is not about banning particular terms but about understanding their potential impact, acknowledging that preferences may differ for different individuals and across different cultures/languages and change over time. It is also about fostering constructive dialogue across stakeholders.
The power of words: respectful language in ADHD research has been published in The Lancet Psychiatry and is available to read online.
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