Ryan Swain expands free “You, Me and ADHD” school talks across Yorkshire and the North East

The sessions will take place across schools, SEND provisions, parent hubs, and community spaces throughout Yorkshire and the North East, spreading awareness, understanding, and positivity around ADHD for students, parents, and educators alike.

The You, Me and ADHD campaign remains very much active, with Ryan continuing to deliver talks entirely free and on a voluntary basis. Schools, SEND settings and education professionals wishing to host a session are encouraged to get in touch, as demand continues to grow well beyond awareness month alone.

Ryan Swain lives with ADHD and Tourette’s and is Mental Health First Aid trained, holding Level 3 qualifications in this field of work. His talks are built on lived experience rather than theory, openly walking young people through his life journey from birth to adulthood and the very real consequences of ADHD when it is misunderstood, unsupported or ignored.

The sessions are suitable for all ages and are carefully tailored depending on the audience, from primary pupils through to secondary students, SEND settings, parents and professionals. While the content is age-appropriate, Ryan keeps the conversations raw, honest and real, ensuring young people feel spoken to rather than spoken at.

During the sessions, Ryan speaks candidly about being excluded from mainstream education, being placed in PRU provision and later attending REOTAS in Scarborough, and what it felt like to grow up learning differently in systems that were not designed for neuro-divergent minds.

He explains how unmanaged ADHD led him into trouble in his younger years and how, if not understood and harnessed correctly, it can negatively impact not only the individual but those around them.

A key focus of the talks is the growing national crisis around access to support. Ryan highlights the reality facing families today, where CAMHS and Right to Choose waiting lists can stretch to three years or more.

He stresses that while diagnosis can be important, it is not a cure-all and should never be seen as the end goal.

“Getting a diagnosis is often just the first step,” Ryan said. “It doesn’t automatically fix everything. Sometimes it’s like plastering over a deeper cut that actually needs stitches to heal.”

Throughout the sessions, Ryan promotes self-acceptance, understanding and authenticity, while making it clear that ADHD should never be used as an excuse but equally should never be dismissed. He challenges stigma, labels and shame, encouraging open-minded thinking, responsibility and early intervention as the tools that genuinely change outcomes.

Ryan also shares his deeply personal experience with ADHD medication, explaining how it nearly cost him his life and forced him to find alternative ways to survive and function.

From this, he developed natural coping mechanisms and practical life hacks which he now openly shares with young people, including emotional regulation techniques, focus strategies, grounding methods and ways to work with the ADHD brain rather than against it.

These honest, no-filter conversations regularly resonate with pupils who have never before heard an adult speak so openly about struggle, mistakes and resilience.

The You, Me and ADHD talks aim to inspire future generations to understand themselves better, take responsibility without self-hatred, ask for help without shame and recognise that being different does not mean being broken. Ryan’s message is clear: ADHD is not an excuse, but understanding it early can prevent lives being derailed and unlock confidence, creativity and purpose.

With dates continuing throughout early 2026 and further sessions being added due to demand, schools and organisations across the UK are invited to enquire.

For bookings and enquiries: [email protected]

All talks are delivered free of charge and on a voluntary basis as part of the ongoing You, Me and ADHD campaign which Ryan hopes to take to parliament and get in to the national curriculum by 2027