Being a Woman Is 100% Significant to My Experiences of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism

Exploring the Gendered Implications of an Adulthood Combined Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnosis

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5455481
AutoresEmma Craddock (0000-0003-1292-8001, Birmingham City University, autor correspondente)
Ano2024
Volume34
Fascículo14
Páginas1442-1455
Data de publicação2024-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/10497323241253412
PMID39025117
OpenAlexW4400763170
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas10
Referências citadas48

This article provides original insight into women's experiences of adulthood diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. Research exploring experiences of adulthood diagnoses of these conditions is emerging. Yet, there is no research about the gendered experiences of an adulthood combined ADHD and autism (AuDHD) diagnosis. This article addresses this gap through interpretative phenomenological analysis of email interviews with six late-diagnosed AuDHD women revealing the complex interplay between late diagnosis, being a woman, and combined diagnoses of ADHD and autism. It underscores how gender norms and stereotypes contribute to the oversight and dismissal of women's neurodivergence. Interpretative phenomenological analysis reveals the inextricability of femininity and neurotypicality, the gendered burden, discomfort, and adverse consequences of masking, along with the adverse outcomes of insufficient masking. Being an undiagnosed AuDHD woman is a confusing and traumatising experience with profound and enduring repercussions. The impact of female hormones exacerbated participants' struggles with (peri)menopause often being a catalyst for seeking diagnosis after decades of trauma. The epistemic injustice of not knowing they were neurodivergent compounded this trauma. Diagnosis enabled participants to overcome epistemic injustice and moved them into a feminist standpoint from which they challenge gendered inequalities relating to neurodiversity. This article aims to increase understanding and representation of late-diagnosed AuDHD women's lived experiences. The findings advocate for trauma-informed pre- and post-diagnosis support which addresses the gendered dimension of women's experiences of being missed and dismissed as neurodivergent. There needs to be better clinical and public understanding of how AuDHD presents in women to prevent epistemic injustice

Autism · Developmental psychology · Femininity · Injustice · Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Psychiatry · Psychoanalysis · Qualitative research · Sociology · Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Psychology · Social Psychology