Kemi Badenoch, a prominent Conservative politician, recently stated, “Motability vehicles are not for people with ADHD,” as part of a broader pitch to restrict the Motability Scheme to only those with “serious disabilities”. This claim, made at a high-profile party conference, has sparked significant backlash from advocacy groups, professionals, and people living with ADHD and autism who assert that these neurodevelopmental conditions can, in many cases, lead to profound disability and critical mobility challenges.
Critiquing the Statement
Kemi Badenoch’s statement that “those cars are not for people with ADHD” is both misleading and harmful. This rhetoric ignores the well-documented fact that ADHD is a complex spectrum disorder; its impact ranges from mild to profoundly disabling, with some individuals experiencing daily life challenges so significant that they severely restrict independence and mobility. Many people with severe ADHD — and particularly those with comorbid conditions like autism — can face substantial practical barriers to travel and transport. The Motability Scheme, in its current form, already requires stringent medical and mobility evidence before qualifying, making the narrative of undeserved access highly inaccurate.
ADHD is a Spectrum—Severity Matters
ADHD can manifest in ways that make independent living and safe travel genuinely impossible for some individuals. For example, severe symptoms can include debilitating executive dysfunction, impulsivity, and difficulties with sensory processing — all of which may overlap with challenges experienced by autistic individuals as well. Research and first-hand reports show that a subset of those diagnosed with ADHD require significant adaptations, sometimes including assistance with mobility.
What About Autism?
People with autism often have overlapping or additional needs, including difficulties with wayfinding, severe anxiety outside familiar environments, or sensory overload, all of which can impact safe and independent travel. Excluding neurodevelopmental conditions from support programs risks denying essential services to some of the most marginalised disabled people whose challenges may not fit traditional, physically visible categories.
Social Impact and Misinformation
Policy statements like Badenoch’s reinforce stigma and misinformation around neurodevelopmental disabilities, painting ADHD and autism as “lesser” or fraudulent when, in reality, these conditions may be profoundly disabling. Communities have warned that such rhetoric could spill into broader discrimination — including cuts to medication, workplace adjustments, and other essential supports, threatening wellbeing for thousands.
Summary
Kemi Badenoch’s claim about disability vehicles not being for people with ADHD is widely disputed by people with lived experience and medical experts alike. ADHD is not a trivial or uniform diagnosis — it sits on a spectrum, sometimes resulting in complex and severe disability, often overlapping with autism. Denying access to vital mobility support based on such statements oversimplifies the realities of neurodivergent people and undermines inclusive disability policy.
If amplifying this story, it is imperative to highlight voices from neurodivergent communities, clarify the nature of the spectrum of ADHD, and counter the false binary between “real” and “not real” disability.
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