Parents back campaign for to boost ADHD support

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The parents of a teenager with ADHD who took his own life have said they are determined to get earlier diagnosis and support for the condition to stop others enduring the “unbearable pain” they have.

Matthew Lock, who was a Labour councillor for Maghull and Lydiate, and ITV This Morning regular, died in 2023 aged 19.

Richard and Christine Lock, who set up the Matthew Lock ADHD charity in his memory, said she “didn’t know there was a link with people taking their own lives”.

Christine said earlier recognition and treatment “will save lives and will let people thrive with ADHD”.

On Tuesday, Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson led a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament about what more can be done for people with ADHD.

Esterson knew Lock, who was also known as TheVacMat for his TV reviews on vacuum cleaners, well.

Paying tribute to him shortly after his death, he said he was a “dedicated” Labour councillor for Maghull and Lydiate with “boundless enthusiasm”.

He said: “I always thought Matty would end up in Westminster as an MP one day once I’d retired.”

The Labour MP said after he “very sadly” took his own life he later discovered there was a “strong link between people with ADHD and suicide”.

He said Lock’s parents, who watched the debate in Parliament, have been “formidable campaigners”.

The Labour MP said: “They’ve already made a difference with changes on the NHS website and with some of the diagnostic testing that is available.”

He said getting “changes that are needed to improve ADHD diagnosis and treatment and support” and make a difference would be a really important way of paying tribute to him.

He said it was a “really impressive debate”.

“We got a very good response from the minister Dr Zubir Ahmed,” he said.

He added he believed the minister “will make sure we have the kind of action that’s needed”.