ADHD Awareness Month campaign
ADHD Awareness Month: our plan, every Saturday this October
October is ADHD Awareness Month — and this year, North Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats are doing more than marking the date. Every Saturday this month, across Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough & Rushden and the wider area, we're setting out what Liberal Democrats would do to make support for people with ADHD match the reality of their lives.
That reality is stark. Around 2.5 million people in England are estimated to have ADHD — classmates, colleagues and neighbours in every town and village in North Northamptonshire. And as of December 2025, NHS England's own figures show up to 735,157 open referrals that may be for an ADHD assessment, with new referrals up more than 17% in a single year. Behind every one of those referrals is a person waiting — for answers, and for the support an assessment unlocks at school, at work and in the NHS.
The wait is only part of the story. Too many children with ADHD are labelled "naughty" before anyone asks why they're struggling. Too many adults only discover they have ADHD late in life, after years of being told to try harder. And families who do get a diagnosis then face a second battle for the support that's supposed to follow it.
What Liberal Democrats would do
Our plan draws on national Liberal Democrat policy — from our manifesto, our five principles for SEND reform, and policy passed by our members at conference:
Shorter waits for diagnosis and support, driven by early identification, so no one's life is put on hold by a waiting list. Every teacher trained to recognise SEND, so children are understood, not just disciplined. A dedicated, qualified mental health professional in every primary and secondary school. Walk-in mental health hubs for children and young people in every community, with mental health check-ups at the points in life when people are most vulnerable. And for young people heading to college or university, a pre-16 diagnosis of ADHD would count towards Disabled Students' Allowance — so no one has to prove twice what they already know.
Here at home, our North Northamptonshire manifesto commits us to expanding and improving the council's SEND service, and to a mental health practitioner being available to pupils at all secondary schools.
Follow along — and join in
Each Saturday in October we'll publish a new instalment on our Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and Threads pages: the launch on 3 October is followed by the waiting list on 10 October (World Mental Health Day), ADHD at school on 17 October, ADHD in adult life on 24 October, and our full plan on 31 October.
If you or your family have lived experience of waiting for an ADHD assessment or fighting for SEND support in North Northamptonshire, we'd like to hear from you — it's stories like yours that make the case for change impossible to ignore. And if our plan sounds like the change you want, you can join the Liberal Democrats or sign up for local updates.