All Kinds of Minds from BBC Radio 4: my review

Last week I wrote about how pleased I was to discover that BBC Radio 4 was broadcasting a new series about neurodivergence. Yesterday I listened to the series in full.

Presented by writer and mental health academic Dr Nathan Filer, All Kinds of Minds is a three-part series exploring neurodivergence in the context of its remarkable rise in the public’s consciousness – and some conditions’ soaring diagnosis rates. While the first episode was broadcast only yesterday, all three are already available on BBC Sounds.

Episode one discusses the language of neurodiversity, episode two covers neurodiversity in childhood, and episode three explores neurodivergent adulthoods.

What I liked about the series

I thought All Kinds of Minds was fabulously presented by John Filer. He comes across as someone with all the aspects of credibility I admire: knowledge of his subject matter but without fixed views, and respectful of those with whom he speaks. Open-minded, warm, and engaging. Perfect.

I’m someone who writes about my own lived experience of being a dyspraxic child, adolescent and adult – as well as my daughter’s. I also have a great interest in psychology and neuroscience that stretches back to my A Levels, and enjoy learning about the clinical/academic take on psychology, neuro-developmental conditions and mental health.

For me, this series managed to cram a lovely blend of lived experience and academic/professional expertise into its two hours’ combined running time. It partly achieved this by including fascinating interviews with professionals who are neurodivergent themselves, thus offering dual perspectives.

I found Peter Wharmby’s take – an ex-teacher and now a neurodivergence writer – particularly frank, fascinating and compelling. Other professions represented included OTs, SENCOs and diagnosticians. A rich mix.

What I would have liked more of

Before I make any criticisms, I appreciate that the job of a BBC editor and producer must be a feat of great compromise and pragmatism. Public-broadcast budgets only go so far, and there must be pressure to focus on those forms of neurodivergence most prominent in the public eye.

That said, it would be remiss of me not to mention the sparse coverage of dyspraxia – just two fleeting mentions. The focus, as so often, was on autism and ADHD. This is editorially understandable in the context of the two conditions’ skyrocketing rates of diagnosis, but disappointing nonetheless. At least us dyspraxics got a mention, though – unlike Tourette’s and dyscalculia.

My other (mild) criticism is insufficient time given to differential diagnosis. One of the psychologists/diagnosticians interviewed described how many people are now referred by GPs when, in fact, other, environmental factors – such as adverse childhood experiences, I guess – better explain their apparent autism symptoms. A traumatised person may avoid eye contact, for example, and develop intense relationships with objects that can’t reject you the way humans can. These can be misinterpreted as evidence of autism without full exploration of the environmental context.

There is a lot of cynicism at the moment about over-diagnosis of neurodivergence. For example, The Spectator published a recent article implying that some socio-economically deprived parents of emotionally dysregulated children seek autism/ADHD diagnoses as a way of ‘seeking comfort’.

Further explanation of the need to carefully consider differential diagnosis could have brought some nuanced, balanced discussion to a subject in danger of becoming polarised. If the public were confident that diagnostic assessments carefully considered whether other factors, such as trauma, provide a better explanation for individuals’ behavioural presentations then maybe there’d be more confidence in the system.

In conclusion

I thought All Kinds of Minds was exceptionally good. My binge-listen of all three episodes was testament to how hooked I was from just a few minutes in.

I would love the BBC to commission further episodes: one exploring other forms of neurodivergence – such as DCD, of course! – and another exploring differential diagnosis, focusing on the need to consider how environmentally-triggered factors can mimic some forms of neurodivergence.

As a 46-year-old, I grew up with the BBC. I love it. It informs, it educates, it entertains. This series was a great example of its enduring value to the British public.

Well done, all.