Did you know that historically women have had the lowest rate of being diagnosed for neurodiverse conditions? Reason - twice the bias, twice the shame

A friend commented on my post from yesterday talking about 'fidgeting' and raised the point above - I wanted to share my answer below:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7161400541829324800/

(I welcome input on this post - my lived experience and training only goes so far)

Yes - and not just bias; often neurodivergent conditions manifest differently in girls. For ADHD, often 'less' hyperactive and more inattentive; historically, ADHD was the "naughty boy syndrome", and for many, it still is, where 'social expectations' lead to girls and women forming coping strategies and masking their traits because of bias, stigma, fear of being found out - amplified in many cultures where 'neurodiversity' is not talked about and is hidden.

Diagnostic criteria for many neurodivergent conditions were historically developed based on male-dominated research. This bias means that the diagnostic tools and criteria are effective at identifying these conditions in females. It's also true that women and girls with neurodivergent conditions are more likely to have comorbid conditions, such as anxiety or depression, which often means they are treated for these conditions without actually understanding the root cause.

Anti-depression medication is doled out by medical professionals in an attempt to pacify the individual and cover the symptoms of neurodivergent conditions, often having disastrous long-term negative impacts, when actually understanding the condition, knowing that 'I'm not stupid, or lazy, or scatty, or or or!'

The comment made (Title of this article) is critical as the impacts on women and girls, extend far beyond childhood. Academic struggles and employment issues to heightened rates of self-harm and addictions.?These are not just statistics; they represent the lived realities of many women and girls grappling with ADHD. Despite being highly prevalent, ADHD's manifestation in females often goes unrecognised because of the skews of understanding towards a male-centric view as mentioned above.

This oversight leads to a lack of appropriate interventions, leaving many women and girls to navigate a complex web of symptoms and societal expectations without adequate support and when support is requested (reasonable adjustments, extra time for an exam, a quiet zone or safe space at work to regulate).

The incidence of self-harm, including non-suicidal self-injury and suicide attempts, is higher in females with ADHD, but again the reasoning ‘why’ is missed and the wrong help put in place following such a traumatic experience for the person and their family.

The consequence? A cycle of misdiagnosis and medication that fails to address the core challenges of ADHD, exacerbating the struggle and reinforcing the feeling of being misunderstood. It's a stark reminder that understanding ADHD in women and girls requires a nuanced, gender-sensitive approach that recognises the unique presentation and challenges faced by this population.

(Source https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7867565/)

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I am Rich Ferriman.

I’m a Neurodiversity advocate, champion, trainer and coach. I am ADHD/Autistic. I help Businesses, Education Settings and Sports Teams to better understanding neurodiversity and how to build an inclusive and equitable productive environment for all. I am also an Neurodivergent Entrepreneur currently fundraising for my app 'ADMIN' - Empowering a Billion people to do a Trillion things.

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