Comedian Rory Bremner has backed a North East dad’s play about living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Scott Latty, of Brunswick Village, Newcastle, was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 33 and his symptoms include being impulsive, irrational, argumentative and fidgety.
It means his mind is “like having multiple TV stations on in front of you, and someone flicking through”.
He says the condition is normally associated with children but not many people know that adults can also suffer from ADHD.
Scott, a call centre worker, decided to write a play about the illness, and hopes it will be televised or performed on stage.
The play, titled Misunderstood, tells the story of a boy who has ADHD but does not know it and shows how he tries to cope with life. It mirrors Scott’s own experiences as he tried to deal with the disorder.
Writer Stephen Paul Blanchard helped to put the script together from Scott’s explanations and notes.
The venture has already received support from Bremner, who also has ADHD. The star read the play and emailed Scott with his thoughts.
He wrote: “Liked it a lot. It’s a very powerful depiction of what it’s like to have ADHD. I recognise a lot of the behaviour and the imagery – flickering screens, flicking between radio stations, easily distracted, difficulty handling change and processing multiple instructions.”
Scott, 37, who is married to Claire and has a nine-month-old son, Hayden, said: “A few years ago someone told me they thought I had some form of autism so I went to see my GP and asked for a referral.
“I was then diagnosed with ADHD and I felt a kind of relief in some ways. I could now move on and try to deal with it. I’m on medication for it.
“This is a really complex condition and every person has different symptoms. I am hyper, even as a child I was hyper. But I’m also an introvert and extremely shy.
“If I change a routine, I panic. I have that many thoughts going through my brain that I have to physically slow myself down. I have had to really learn how to control my phone manner.
“I am now in a settled place. My wife is my absolute backbone and son is incredible.
“I now want to do something to help others and raise awareness about what it means to live with ADHD. That’s why I wrote this play.
“The word ‘misunderstood’ is probably how many people with ADHD feel. We don’t know how to express ourselves sometimes and people misunderstand that.”
Scott hopes his play will be made into a documentary or be screened on TV. He also hopes a short version of it can be performed at conferences or other events held by charity groups.
He added: “I saw Rory Bremner discussing this on TV and I emailed his management company about my play. It was passed on to Rory and he read my manuscript.
“He emailed me back saying he liked it and he also called me up. He is such a nice genuine person. He was able to relate to everything I was talking about.
“It’s incredible when someone like that is ready to support you.”
Source www.chroniclelive.co.uk
