Intersections
Before we understand how ADHD presents differently in women in comparison to men, one must understand that gender is socially constructed.
Part of this means that we are socialized into (taught) our beliefs about gender norms, or how we believe people should behave based on their biological sex or gender presentation.
These socially constructed gender norms differ depending on context, generation, ethnicity, and culture.
For example, when I am hyperactive at sports, this is socially accepted, even welcomed. However when I was hyperactive in class, this was very much frowned upon and often got me into trouble as a kid.
I mention this because a lot of female-presenting individuals with ADHD either do not receive a diagnosis at all, or receive theirs much later in life. We are also more commonly misdiagnosed with mood and personality disorders.
Stereotypical ADHD
The DSM-5 criteria for ADHD is primarily based on external, behavioural symptoms observed in male-presenting white children. The stereotypical ADHD-kid is running around, unable to focus, loud, impulsive, messy, and easily distracted.
These are the children (usually little white boys) who are most often identified early, after they begin school, when the ways in which their behaviour differs from their peers become apparent.
This was my son.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Neurodiversity MB to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.