An ambiguous 'yeah, sure' in response to something someone has worked hard on can genuinely spiral into 'I'm terrible at my job and I'm about to be let go.'

This isn't oversensitivity. It's Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria - a neurological response that affects a significant proportion of people with ADHD, and one that most managers in the film and TV industry have never heard of.

The antidote isn't excessive praise, which can make things worse. It's specific, honest, timely feedback, with the ‘why’ always included.

We've written a practical guide for HODs and managers on communicating with neurodivergent teams. No diagnosis required.

You get a diagnosis. And then you get sent home.

 No follow-up support on the NHS. No one who sits you down and explains what this means for how you work, what you might need, what you could do differently. Just a label for the thing you've been managing alone for years.

For many people in the film and TV industry - particularly women who've spent decades masking in a high-pressure freelance environment - the diagnosis comes late. Sometimes very late. And when it does, the question isn't 'what does this explain?' It's 'now what?'