Do you picture someone like me when you think of ADHD?

Article by Vivienne Isebor for #BlackHistoryMonth.

October is an important month for many reasons. Not only is it Black History Month in the UK, but it is also ADHD Awareness Month. As a Black Woman who also has ADHD, this period feels like a coming together of two significant parts of my identity. It’s also a loud reminder of how these identities are overlooked, underrepresented, and misunderstood.

Ask yourself, when you think of ‘ADHD’ what type of person comes to mind?

• Who do you see?
• How old are they?
• What do they look like?
• How do they act?

There are no wrong or right answers (so please don’t judge what your answer was!)

There isn't much nuance when it comes to the representation of ADHD. For me, this meant I wasn't able to recognise the neurodivergent traits in the way I was showing up in the world.

That looked like being the kid in primary school who played football every break-time. In secondary school, it was being in every sports team. And getting labelled as having ‘anger management’ issues because I was getting into fights. In college, it looked like struggling to concentrate in the library and feeling like I missed a handbook on how to be a ‘normal’ student. In university, it looked like failing modules, handing in every assignment late, and having to repeat my final year. It took me a year after graduating before I got my ADHD diagnosis. Then I finally started to draw a thread between the many potholes I had crawled out of throughout the years.

Yet still, in this moment of validation and vindication, I felt so incredibly alone.

I did not know any other Women with ADHD, let alone Black Women from London.

ADHD Babes was born out of the loneliness and feeling of grief I felt post-diagnosis.

Since then, I have been blessed to experience a whole community of us who have all been living through our suffering without being witnessed.

Why have Black Women with ADHD been missed and why is it important for everyone to pay attention?

Numerous studies have identified that Women are less likely to be diagnosed in their lifetime compared to men. Not because ADHD is more prevalent in men, but because our presentation of ADHD is often misunderstood as character flaws or ‘quirks’. Many Women, myself included, are initially diagnosed with mental health or hormonal conditions. This shrouds how we are later perceived. Once we are given a label, there is often a lack of curiosity and care to dive deeper. This is especially true if we have received ‘effective’ treatment for our diagnosis yet are still struggling.

There is a pacifying nature to our needs being expressed, which is silencing; we mask, we move, and we are forced to suffer in silence.?

A 2014 study reported 19.3% of Black Women screened positive for ADHD versus 3.3% of White Men. Yet many Black Women experience barriers to receiving a clinical diagnosis and support. This could be difficulty raising the conversation in cultural spaces or medical neglect and mistreatment. The experience of being both Black and a Woman compounds to create barriers that are unique to us.

What is the impact of late diagnosis?

A late diagnosis of ADHD can mean different things for different people. Especially for Black Women. Statistically, we are more likely to report common mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. It can hold a heavy weight, including:

• Low self-esteem?

• Strained relationships?

• Poor mental health?

• Difficulties in education?

• Struggling to maintain jobs?

And so much more.?

The stakes are high for us. And as a society, we can all contribute to challenging stigma and lack of representation.

What can we do to promote inclusion and representation when understanding ADHD??

• Follow, support, and promote the voices of Black ADHDers

• Read resources, articles, and books about/by neurodivergent folk from the Black community?

• Advocate within your workspaces for varied representation. For example, if you have a panel discussion, do you have speakers from different communities?

• Attend talks and workshops around disability justice, neurodiversity, and intersectionality ?

• Where possible, challenge stereotypes and myths around ADHD

It takes a collective to make concrete change within society.

We all contribute to the narratives that shape the way the world is formed. Together, we can create more inclusive, accommodating, and caring spaces for Black Women with ADHD and the wider ADHD community.