What HGTV's Ty Pennington Has Said About His ADHD Diagnosis

Home makeover show veteran Ty Pennington has been open about his attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis for years. In 2022, he was featured in "The Disruptors," a star-studded documentary that explores ADHD. Speaking to People ahead of the doc's release, Pennington talked about the tragic and difficult times he had in school before he received his ADHD diagnosis. He shared that he was regularly sent out of the classroom because he, as he put it, "exploded with disruption."

In a 2012 chat with HuffPost, Pennington shared that when he was a child, his future child psychologist mother was actually sent to his school to observe his behavior when she was still working toward her degree. "They let her observe me through a window and within 20 minutes I stripped naked, wore my desk around and swung on the blinds," recalled. "I was just a complete distraction to all the other students."

But when he finally received his ADHD diagnosis at 17 years old, Pennington saw his life transform dramatically. He told People, "It really did open my mind to the fact that maybe there was something wrong with me. I'm now seeing life in a different way, because I didn't fail at everything (anymore)." Pennington found his calling in carpentry, a skill that would eventually land him on HGTV and launch a career. He continued, "Every person out there with ADHD has a hidden talent that they must find, because it's the confidence that you can gain from that [discovery] that's life changing."

Over the years, Ty Pennington's endorsements of ADHD medications have landed him in hot water. On a 2011 episode of his ABC show "The Revolution," Pennington used a ping-pong game as a visual representation of ADHD. On that same episode, guest psychiatrist Dr. Ned Hallowell claimed that much of the prison population, divorced, addicted, and unemployed all have undiagnosed attention deficit disorders. He then encouraged everyone watching to go get evaluated. 

In 2013, The New York Times reported that it was never mentioned that Pennington was actually a paid spokesperson for Shire, the pharmaceutical company that produces Adderall and Vyvanse, two drugs commonly prescribed to people with ADHD. Pennington also posted a now-deleted testimonial where he championed Adderall without listing side effects. Per The New York Times, the FDA called him out for not accurately representing the drug. In the wake of this drama, he said via his spokesperson, "I am not a medical expert. I am a television host."

Though some of his comments have been called into question, Pennington continues to use his platform to promote ADHD awareness. In his 2019 book "Life to the Extreme: How a Chaotic Kid Became America's Favorite Carpenter," he opened up the role ADHD has played in his own life journey. As he told the Chicago Tribune, "The book is meant to inspire not only people struggling with ADHD themselves, but also parents that feel like they're not doing the best job they can with a kid like that."