Is it Something Else?
Are you diagnosed with depression and anxiety?
Borderline personality disorder or bipolar?
Have you struggled to find treatment that works for you?
Do you feel like you’re different from other people?
Were you born female?
If you answered yes to some or all these questions, you may be neurodivergent and not yet know it.
What is Neurodivergence?
Neurodivergence (abbreviated as ND) includes several conditions and refers to a difference in mental or neurological functioning from typical mental or neurological functioning (typical functioning is referred to as neurotypical). Neurodivergence is a category including:
Autism spectrum disorder
ADHD
OCD
Epilepsy
TBI
Dyslexia
Dyspraxia
Dyscalculia and others.
Neurodivergence and Men
Males are diagnosed with ADHD THREE times as often as females. Males are diagnosed with Autism FOUR times as often as females.
Are males just more likely to be autistic? More likely to have ADHD? Or are women and girls less likely to be diagnosed, despite the frequency of these conditions effecting both genders equally?
-The diagnostic criteria for autism and ADHD were created using male patients.
-Testing and diagnosis were developed by male doctors.
-The DSM 5 continues to use diagnostic criteria that ignores much of the experience of women and girls.
-Neurodivergence does not present the same based on gender.
Neurodivergence and Women
ADHD has increasingly gotten attention over the last several years as it affects women and girls. More recently, autism has received more attention for the same reason.
This week, two well-known personalities in the UK shared that they were recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Per Cathy Jones, an autism advocate in the UK, diagnosed as autistic at 33:
“A diagnosis can be life-changing and vital to getting timely care and support. But many autistic people aren’t diagnosed well into adulthood – and may have gone through life without a full understanding of who they are and the support they’re entitled to.”
‘”Women present in a very different way,” says Sarah Wild, headteacher at Limpsfield Grange School, the UK’s only school solely for autistic girls. “I think quite often women are just missed because the tools we are using to find out if people are autistic are not designed with women in mind.”’
Both Jones and Wild agree that adults who go undiagnosed may become experts at masking (masking refers to how neurodivergent individuals copy the behaviors and mannerisms of neurotypical people to fit in and appear normal, to avoid getting into trouble, or to please or meet the expectations of those around them).
“If they’re 30, 40 or 50 they have been masking, adapting to fit in, for decades,” Ms. Jones explains. “They are still masking in that clinician’s room, so you need a doctor who knows everything there is to know about autism in women and girls.”
Common Symptoms of Autism
According to the National Autistic Society, there are five common symptoms associated with autism that deserve further investigation:
- Feeling (sometimes intense) anxiety about changes or unexpected events
- Being (in some cases extremely) under or over-sensitive to sound, smells, light, taste and touch. This is called sensory sensitivity or sensory processing disorder
- Needing extra time to process information, like questions or instructions
- Facing high levels of anxiety in social situations
- Having difficulties communicating and interacting with others
*Source: National Autistic Society
Resources
If you are questioning whether you are actually ADHD or autistic and want to investigate further, you can:
-Bring the topic up to your primary care doctor, therapist, or psychiatrist.
-Take some tests at home to see if you relate to the questions being asked or if your score is indicative of a diagnosis. (No one can self-test at home to get an official diagnosis). One test that has been considered useful by autistic individuals is The Autism-Spectrum Quotient Test or AQ: https://psychology-tools.com/test/autism-spectrum-quotient
-Read the lived experiences of people who have been officially diagnosed or self-diagnose as ADHD or autistic. There are several Facebook groups that are a good place to start, including:
Autistic Adults with ADHD
****I’ve been autistic all along?****
Ask Autistic Adults
There are many more groups and support spaces on and off social media. Reading the experiences of others can help you to determine if seeking a diagnosis would be beneficial to you.
The full UK article and statistics on autism in male versus female populations can be found here:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59352983
This post was written by Jessica Flood, MSW, and published by Convenient Counseling Services.
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