Remembering Thomas E. Brown, PhD

With a profound sense of loss, CHADD celebrates the life of Thomas E. Brown, PhD. A dedicated researcher, psychologist, author, and ADHD advocate, Dr. Brown generously contributed his time and support to CHADD and ADHD awareness efforts. We are grateful for all of his work and friendship through the many years of his association with CHADD.

Lifetime Achievement

In 2024, CHADD presented Dr. Brown with our Lifetime Achievement Award, a recognition of the extraordinary impact he had on how we understand, support, and advocate for people with ADHD. He helped to change the public perception of the condition from one of behavioral and attention challenges to one of complex executive function differences. His books made a difference for many people, especially the groundbreaking A New Understanding of ADHD in Children and Adults and Smart But Stuck: Emotions in Teens and Adults with ADHD. His Brown Executive Function/Attention Rating Scales served as a guide in diagnosing ADHD and helping clinicians meet the needs of their patients and clients.

Dr. Brown was invited to speak in more than fifty countries, making friends and professional contacts who helped to increase understanding of ADHD worldwide. He frequently spoke to CHADD audiences and contributed to CHADD’s Attention magazine, always sharing his expertise and answering questions as new research was published.

ADHD awareness

Devoted to raising ADHD awareness, Dr. Brown contributed to ADHD Awareness Month through short essays and video discussions. He made ADHD and executive function challenges understandable, describing ADHD as fundamentally a disorder of executive function—the brain’s “management system” responsible for organizing, prioritizing, activating tasks, sustaining focus and effort, managing time, working memory, emotional regulation, and self-monitoring. His work reframed how clinicians, educators, parents, and people with ADHD understand what’s really going on.

A generous heart and an exemplary mind

Affectionately called “Doc” Brown by his friends and admirers, Dr. Brown was known for his warmth, ready smile, and unfailing kindness. He had a talent for setting a person at ease and listening deeply to their concerns and thoughts. He contributed readily when CHADD asked if he could be a webinar expert or write for CHADD’s Attention magazine. CHADD deeply appreciated his support and friendship with our organization, our leaders, and our chapters.

Dr. Brown was on the clinical faculty of the department of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine for more than twenty years, while serving as associate director of the Yale Clinic for Attention & Related Disorders and maintaining a private practice. In 2017, he relocated to California, where he opened his Brown Clinic for Attention & Related Disorders in Manhattan Beach. He leaves a legacy that reaches far beyond his own writing or clinical work. He published more than thirty peer-reviewed articles, seven books now translated into twelve languages, was named an elected fellow of the American Psychological Association, and received the distinguished alumni award from Knox College. His intellectual legacy will continue to shape our understanding of ADHD for generations.

CHADD’s tributes to a friend

In the coming months, CHADD plans additional tributes to Dr. Brown in Attention magazine and testimonials to celebrate his dedication to the ADHD community. Many members of our staff had the opportunity to work closely with him through the years. We meet his loss with both sadness and gratitude for having had the opportunity to know and learn from him.

The Dr. Thomas E. Brown Memorial Fund

Donations to the memorial fund will carry forward Dr. Brown’s legacy by supporting CHADD’s core mission: providing evidence-based resources, expanding access to trusted care and education, and strengthening advocacy for the 22 million children and adults across the United States who live with ADHD.

With your support, we hope this fund will grow into a lasting endowment that reflects Dr. Brown’s lifelong commitment to helping individuals with ADHD live fuller, more empowered lives. This initiative will begin with CHADD’s Young Scientist Award, to be renamed The Dr. Thomas E. Brown Pioneer Award. The award is presented annually at the International Conference on ADHD to two young researchers who are helping to advance our knowledge of ADHD.

 

Thomas E. Brown, PhD (1942–2025)
Devoted Husband, Father, Brother, Grandfather, and Renowned Psychologist

Dr. Thomas E. Brown, a devoted husband, father, brother, and grandfather, passed away at home, surrounded by family, on August 18, 2025, at the age of 83.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 25, 1942, Tom attended Carl Schurz High School in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from Knox College in 1964, he earned a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School in 1968, and then his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Yale University in 1976.

Dr. Brown became one of the most influential voices in the modern understanding of ADHD. Over the course of five decades, he transformed how the world sees ADHD—not simply as a disorder of attention, but as a complex challenge of executive functioning. He developed the widely used Brown Executive Function/Attention Rating Scales and authored seven books, including the acclaimed Smart but Stuck and A New Understanding of ADHD, which continue to guide patients, families, and professionals worldwide.

Tom married Roberta “Bobbie” Brown on June 3, 1967. Together they raised their children, Liza and David, in Hamden, Connecticut. In 1979, Dr. Brown became the consulting psychologist for Hamden Hall Country Day School, where both Liza and David attended. For many years, Dr. Tom and Bobbie Brown were beloved fixtures in both the Hamden Hall and Hopkins School communities.

Dr. Brown served on the clinical faculty at Yale Divinity School and was Director of Clinical Services at Highland Heights Residential Treatment Center. In 1984, he opened a private practice and joined the Yale Department of Psychology, later transitioning to the Yale School of Medicine, where he taught for more than twenty years and served as associate director of the Yale Clinic for Attention. Following the death of his wife, Bobbie, Tom moved to Los Angeles to be closer to Liza and David. In 2017, he founded the Brown Clinic for ADHD in Manhattan Beach, California, with his associate and mentee, Dr. Ryan J. Kennedy. His West Coast affiliations included adjunct faculty appointments at both USC and the UC Riverside School of Medicine.

A gifted speaker, Dr. Brown was invited to lecture in more than 50 countries around the globe. For many years, he traveled with his beloved wife, Bobbie. From donning Viking horned hats in Norway to riding elephants in India, they lived a life full of love and shared adventure.

Among his most widely viewed work is a twenty-eight-minute video produced for Understood.org, where he clearly explained the nuances of ADHD in everyday language. The video has been viewed over eleven million times and remains one of the most-watched and referenced ADHD resources online—solidifying Dr. Brown’s role not only as a clinician and educator, but also as a gifted communicator who made complex science accessible to the world.

Dr. Brown was a pioneer in the field of ADHD and learning disabilities. He published more than thirty peer-reviewed articles, was an elected fellow of the American Psychological Association, received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Knox College, and in 2024 was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from CHADD, the leading nonprofit for ADHD. His loss is felt not only by colleagues and patients, but by a global community of scholars, clinicians, students, and families. He was admired for his intellectual rigor, revered for his clinical insight, and beloved for his compassion and warmth. His legacy endures in the lives he touched, and the field he helped shape. Tom will be remembered by his family as a dedicated, loving, generous, and kind patriarch; he will be missed, but his presence and impact will live on.

“Doc” Brown is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth “Liza” Somilleda, and her husband, Abel, of Hawthorne, California; his son, David Brown, and his wife, Jen, of Los Angeles, California; his grandchildren, Noah Somilleda, Simone Somilleda, and Ford Brown; and his beloved sister, Nancy Gebhard, and her husband, Robert Gebhard, of Centennial, Colorado.

Ford Brown was born on June 25, 2025—the very day Dr. Brown turned 83.

To honor Dr. Thomas E. Brown’s lifelong dedication to understanding and supporting those with ADHD, the family has established the Dr. Thomas E. Brown Memorial Fund in partnership with CHADD. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to this fund to continue his legacy through research, education, and direct support for individuals and families living with ADHD.