When Mia Skäringer read the script for "Diagnoser" (Diagnoses), she accepted almost immediately. The role of a single mother whose world is shaken by her son being assessed for an NPF diagnosis meant that she would have to leave comedy behind for more pure drama.
For my own development, I felt that it was my next step, to calm my face down a bit and dare to use other tools, she says.
Own experiences
Skäringer has her own experience of NPF diagnoses in her family and was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. She believes that women often keep the chaos inside to maintain an external facade and motherhood - until their bodies finally stop:
I usually say that it's not the ADHD itself that has burned me out, but all the attempts to play normal. It's not that easy with all the templates, forums and squares in our society that you have to fit into, she says.
Now she hopes that "Diagnoses" will show how crucial it is for schools, parents and society to see the children behind acting out or difficult behaviours.
I hope that people will see the big picture. That they will see that rowdy boy who is flailing and making fools, and understand that there has to be a space to catch him. Everyone is such a little guy from the start.
The consequences when children are not seen can be that they seek confirmation in the wrong context, says Skäringer:
When they are not caught in time, things can go completely to hell. Things can happen before we have time to go back and see what really happened.
See the whole picture
But "Diagnoses" is not a series just for those already familiar with NPF, emphasizes Mia Skäringer. Rather, it is a story for the whole family, where the experiences of different parents and children play out.
I hope that both children and adults will find a connection, and really see that this is not that easy. You have to keep several different thoughts going at the same time, and we humans are usually pretty bad at that.
Screenplay: Jessica Ericstam, Maria Nygren and Linn Gottfridsson.
Directed by: Sofia Adrian Jupiter.
Starring: Mia Skäringer, Siham Shurafa, Frank Lilja, Stina Ekblad, Martin Wallström and others.
Premiere: September 4 on SVT and SVT Play.
