The Problem with “Invented Labels"

A Critique of Sami Timimi’s Interview on SEND, Autism, and ADHD

In a recent TES interview, psychiatrist Sami Timimi argued that diagnostic labels such as autism and ADHD are “invented,” lacking neurological basis, and that the real problem lies not within children’s brains but within their relationships and environments. He paints the SEND system as a commercial marketplace where distress is medicalised and sold bac…