Teenagers with ADHD get labelled, and the labels aren’t good… they’re trouble, they lack concentration, they can’t stand still. The condition is seen as a hinderance and a problem to solve.

Takeda believe in bright futures for everyone, so they needed to change this perspective.

They engaged us to help with the following objectives:

• Identify a place in the ADHD adolescent (6+ years) market where Takeda could make a statement and own the discussion

• Connect to ADHD relevant audiences (parents and children) to share a positive view of ADHD

• Bridge the gap of information for adolescents when transitioning to the adult treatment indication (limited resources are available for adolescents being diagnosed as current information is focused either on newly diagnosed children or late adult diagnosis).

• Engage secondary audiences of parents and teachers/schools

• Help Takeda foster essential long-term relationships and trust with ADHD Patient groups

Insight:

We need to counter the idea that people with ADHD are a problem to be solved. They aren’t wrong, they’re different. Hundreds of successful people all over the world have the condition.

We needed to create some neural-diverse inspiration which would inspire ADHD teens in a way that was accessible to parents teachers and the teens themselves…

We created ‘Stories That Never Stand Still’ - a free, not-for-profit, storybook, full of real stigma-smashing stories about ADHD as a celebration of what the brilliant ADHD mind can do.

It’s the only book out there which is:

• Created BY people living with ADHD

• ABOUT living with ADHD

• Designed to be interesting and compelling FOR people with ADHD

The cover-to-cover inspiration helped teens to see how ADHD could be their strength rather than their downfall…and that their lives could be as extraordinary as anybody else’s.

Written content might seem an unusual way to go for teenagers with ADHD…don’t they struggle to concentrate? To counter the narrative that ADHD teens are a problem to be solved, we decided to make a book that would work for them:

• In addition to the compelling content, we designed every page-turn to have something bright, new and interesting on it. The lively illustrative comic style keeps readers interested beyond the words.

• Additionally, we sought an ISBN number for the book, which means that ‘Stories That Never Stand Still’ can officially go into any public library. Books are still the 'official' tool for school and education and we want our book to make its way to the school and library shelves for maximum inclusion of ADHD teens in the ‘usual’ places.

We also engaged Fintan O’Regan, one of the leading behaviour and learning specialists in the UK.

The messages, ideas and interventions from Stories That Never Stand Still aim to show another side of ADHD and help improve the understanding after diagnosis. These stories introduce patients, parents, teachers and HCPs to inspiring neuro-diverse heroes who have managed their ADHD and made their mark on the world.

We identified 10x inspiring people who are living and accomplishing great things with well managed ADHD, pairing them with great artists and illustrators that also have the neuro-diverse condition to develop 10 individual life stories and illustrations to bring their experiences to life.

• The first books were distributed at the book-launch in Liverpool to a key audience of teachers, parents and patients (4th October) at the ADHD Foundation Conference.

• 6,000 books have been printed for distribution by Patient Awareness groups.

• A digital copy is free to download from the ADHD Foundation and Born To Be ADHD websites.

1500 books were distributed in 1.5hours at the ADHD conference (ADHD Foundation). The ongoing requests for books from PAGS has allowed for Takeda to extend discussions and start to build continuous dialogue with various groups.

Social Metrics for launch campaign:

• 1,297,235 Impressions

• 4736 click-through to website

• 923 e-book downloads

• 14,243k engagement on twitter

The request for books (and collection at the ADHD conference) by SEN groups has allowed for direct engagement with teachers and schools and provided another route to openly discussing ADHD.

Quote from the ADHD Foundation: "Thank you again – this was wonderful and the book was so well received. If we can have any more printed copies that would be wonderful – we are inundated with requests for it."