It’s one thing to wonder if you have ADHD. It’s another to read how your loved ones see it in you.
Host Laura Key talks with writer, director, and performer Kate Hammer, who was born in Canada and now lives in Scotland. Kate shares her experience navigating the U.K.’s ADHD evaluation process, which includes personal letters from family and friends, and the complex emotions it brought up.
She also discusses her short film, Bear, a surreal, funny, and poignant look at how ADHD can shadow your every move. In the film, a woman on her way to a job interview is followed by a bumbling bear — clumsy, loud, and impossible to ignore. The Bear represents ADHD in all its disruptive, intrusive glory. Kate talks about why she chose to visualize ADHD this way, how humor helps her process, and what it means to turn something invisible into something you can’t ignore.
Timestamps
(00:00) Intro
(01:03) The UK ADHD evaluation process
(07:26) What ADHD traits cause Kate shame and guilt?
(08:44) Kate’s short film Bear
(16:58) Validating the challenges of ADHD through her short film
(21:27) Kate’s ADHD aha! moment(s)
(23:05) Outro and credits
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Getting your child the support they need at school shouldn’t feel like a fight. But for millions of families, it does. In Zero Reject, an investigative podcast from Understood.org, award-winning journalist Anya Kamenetz looks at how changing federal policies are reshaping special education — and what’s at stake for families trying to access the support their children are legally entitled to. Start listening now.
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