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ADHD Chatter Podcast

Harvard Academic Shares Exciting New Research After Testing 50,000 Brains - Wynford Dore

Does your brain feel like it’s got 10 highly caffeinated squirrels running around in there? Do you wish you could calm those racing thoughts and reduce overwhelm? Todays guest is Wynford Dore.

Wynford DoreguestAlex Partridgehost

Jan 21, 20251h 17mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Wynford's Personal Story: His Daughter's Struggles and the Cerebellum
Alex asks what role ADHD and dyslexia have played in Wynford's life. Wynford describes his eldest daughter struggling at school, his search for specialists, and how a mentor pointed him to the cerebellum as the likely root cause.
- •His eldest daughter struggled to read despite the same teaching and support as her siblings
- •Specialists at the time said she had to learn to live with her problems
- •A New York specialist pointed him to the cerebellum as the probable root cause
- •Professor Rod Nicholson became his mentor 25 years ago, and he also met Professor Jeremy Schmahmann
- •His daughter now reads, writes and concentrates
The Cost of Learning Difficulties for Self-Esteem and Mental Health
Alex asks about the long-term costs of these difficulties for self-esteem. Wynford says the education system doesn't address neurological limitations and describes the mental health toll, including a diagnosis that doesn't lead to a solution.
- •Wynford praises teachers but says the system doesn't address neurological limitations
- •Some successful entrepreneurs don't read much, but many others underachieve, go to prison or take their own lives
- •A diagnosis doesn't bring someone a step closer to solving the problem
- •Children left behind early can carry a belief that they are stupid
What the Cerebellum Is: The Room of Computer Coders
Wynford explains the cerebellum as a room of coders that automatize skills such as eye movement and social skills. When a skill isn't automatized, the thinking brain is overloaded, and he says children then get labeled thick or lazy. He tells the story of an 82-year-old woman who learned to read and write.
- •The cerebellum automatizes repeated skills so they become effortless
- •Underdeveloped eye-movement control makes reading very hard work
- •The thinking brain fills up with effort and words get scrubbed
- •Children get wrongly labeled thick, stupid or lazy, which hits self-esteem
- •An 82-year-old woman wrote her first letters within three months and later read and wrote in three languages
Cerebellum Differences and Early Childhood Trauma
Asked how the cerebellum differs in neurodiverse people, Wynford describes uneven development and the strengths that come with it. He traces most neurodiversity to very early trauma, which can stunt part of the cerebellum, force a kind of genius and create sensitivities.
- •Neurotypical development is fairly even, while neurodiversity brings eccentric peaks and gaps
- •Neurodiverse people often show creativity and the ability to make connections others can't
- •Early trauma in the womb or at birth can stunt cerebellar development
- •Trauma in his neurological sense includes events the baby's brain isn't programmed to handle, not parental fault
- •It can also create PTSD-type triggers and anxiety through the amygdala
What Science Doesn't Know and the 80% Claim
Asked what remains a mystery, Wynford says the problem is that existing neuroscience takes decades to reach people who can use it. He likens his work to assembling jigsaw pieces and claims at least 80% of neurodiverse symptoms could be addressed permanently.
- •Neuroscience takes decades to reach people who could use it
- •Neuroscientists make detailed jigsaw pieces but rarely assemble the puzzle
- •He says at least 80% of neurodiverse symptoms could be addressed effectively and permanently
- •Employers often value people who think outside the box, but their mental health suffers from being misunderstood
How Important the Cerebellum Is in the ADHD Brain
Wynford explains that the cerebellum is only 10% of brain volume but holds about 75% of brain cells. He uses learning to ride a bike to show how it automatizes skills and moves them to the cortex, which processes far faster.
- •The cerebellum was long thought to concern only balance and gross motor coordination
- •Professor Schmahmann pointed out it holds about 75% of brain cells
- •It develops rapidly up to about age seven
- •Learning to ride a bike shows skills being debugged and then parked in the cortex
- •Conscious thinking is about 100,000 times slower than automatized processing
Training the Cerebellum: Vestibular and Cerebellar Exercises
Wynford describes how Professor Nicholson's hunch led to a program combining vestibular stimulation with exercises that challenge the cerebellum. He explains why programs must be individualized and cites a Nature article on stem cells in the cerebellum and hippocampus.
- •Nicholson's hunch was that repetitive activity plus vestibular stimulation could develop the cerebellum
- •The first cohort had over 40,000 people, each needing personalized stimulation
- •An example exercise is standing on one leg with eyes shut and head on one shoulder
- •The program is adjusted daily to raise gray matter density
- •A Nature article reported that combined stimulation multiplies stem cells in the cerebellum and hippocampus
Intelligence, Creativity and Regurgitation
Alex asks about the link between the cerebellum and intelligence. Wynford argues the world measures regurgitation rather than intelligence, says exam success doesn't predict creative success, and defines intelligence as making connections others don't.
- •He started an examination board because he felt the world isn't measuring intelligence properly
- •He cites American research that valedictorians often have average success in life
- •Neurodiverse kids often become the hugely creative ones
- •Education systems built on regurgitation discourage creativity
- •True intelligence is making connections others don't make
Testing 50,000 People and Why ADHD Is Neurological
Wynford says they've tested well over 50,000 people with measures such as working memory and processing speed. He argues these tests show neurological reasons for concentration difficulties and that ADHD is not a fad or bad behavior.
- •Tests cover auditory and visual working memory, processing speed and reaction time
- •Tests are built into games to show strengths and limitations
- •A child with poor auditory processing does a thousand times as much work in class as other children
- •Behavior comes from how the child is wired, not choice
Future Research, the VAST Reframing and Mental Health as Trainable
Asked about future research, Wynford wants fMRI studies showing brain changes. He proposes replacing 'ADHD' with Ned Hallowell's VAST, and argues mental health can be trained like physical health.
- •He is working with a UK university and wants fMRI studies to show brain changes
- •He backs Ned Hallowell's call to ban the term ADHD and offers the acronym Varied Attention Stunning Talent
- •Cerebellum research papers have risen sharply over 15 years
- •Mental health should be seen like physical health, where you can grow your brain
- •All neurodiversity symptoms stem from the brain running out of mental capacity
Can an Injured Cerebellum Cause ADHD Traits?
Alex asks whether a cerebellar injury could cause ADHD-like traits. Wynford says it causes different traits and that recovery is possible because other brain areas can take over, citing Medicare Part B funding and his mentor's study.
- •Development is like laying bricks, with missing layers that can be filled in
- •Autism is more complex than ADHD and may need several new layers
- •The brain can recruit other regions to replicate lost processes after injury
- •Medicare Part B in America is funding seniors to do the program for balance, memory and cognition
- •His mentor in Sheffield published a study on recovery
The Post-it Notes: Thinking Brain Capacity and Reprioritizing
Wynford explains his Post-it notes as a way to offload ideas from a full thinking brain. He and Alex discuss constant reprioritizing, how a full prefrontal cortex drives impulsivity, procrastination and disorganization, and how to beat overwhelm paralysis.
- •Post-it notes extend the thinking brain, which holds roughly seven things
- •He actions fewer than half of the notes he writes
- •Neurodiverse people constantly reprioritize, as with agoraphobia jumping to the top of his list
- •A full thinking brain causes impulsivity, such as eating the chocolate, and procrastination
- •Only freeing up prefrontal space overcomes overwhelm
Washing Machine of Woes: Daughter's Low Self-Esteem and Exams
In the ADHD agony aunt segment, Wynford says the solution is more prefrontal capacity through 10 minutes a day for about 90 days. He answers a listener's question about a daughter with low self-esteem after exams, explaining that confidence is neurological and citing the Sefton study.
- •Permanent cerebellar development comes from about 10 minutes a day for about 90 days
- •A full working memory makes recall in exams hard
- •Exams score regurgitation, not creativity
- •Self-esteem rises as thinking-brain load falls
- •A study at Sefton Borough Council showed children's confidence and happiness rose
What ADHD Is and Whether the Diagnosis Holds Up
Wynford says ADHD is a set of symptoms from cerebellar underdevelopment and criticizes the diagnosis process as negative and inconsistent. He returns to his daughter's recovery and addresses why 3% of people don't benefit, then discusses his mentors and what might shock listeners.
- •He disagrees with the diagnosis process and says it points mainly to medication
- •He believes diagnosis rates are inconsistent and driven by teachers and parents
- •His daughter was reading and writing within months after her eye tracking was addressed
- •For the 3% who don't benefit, he cites other developmental delay or insufficient improvement
- •His mentors include Ned Hallowell, Jeremy Schmahmann and Rod Nicholson
Keeping Strengths While Losing Limitations, and the Warrior Parent Message
Alex asks whether someone can keep ADHD's positives while losing the negatives. Wynford says the program doesn't add creativity but increases capacity to use it, then explains why he came on the show and urges parents to be warrior parents.
- •Creativity isn't increased, but mental capacity to use it is
- •Better recall and emotional control can improve exam performance
- •He came on the show because he watched his daughter and other families suffer
- •Parents shouldn't delegate to schools, which lack time and resources
Closing Letter from the Previous Guest
Alex delivers the closing-tradition letter containing three rules to live by from the previous guest. Wynford reads them and reflects on each in light of the conversation.
- •The rules are to know yourself and nurture your potential, find something you're passionate about, and surround yourself with trusted people
- •Wynford links the first rule to hidden potential and growth in the brain
- •He says people with ADHD tend to have purpose and passion
- •Alex asks him to write his own rules on Post-it notes

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