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If you’re a neurodivergent woman – whether formally or self-diagnosed – you’ll be particularly aware of a certain phenomenon.
That is, the ‘typical’ expressions of conditions like autism and ADHD that might well have prevented your struggles from being picked up until much later in life. And by ‘typical’, of course we mean ‘observed in boys.’
Because the truth is, all society knows of autism and ADHD, the stereotypical ways these conditions are expressed, is how they typically (but not always) manifest in young boys – which of course leads to an under-diagnosis of girls and women.
So as women fight to get the support they deserve, it is helpful that diagnostic criteria for neurodivergence is gradually being adjusted to include the ways in which women and girls more typically express symptoms.
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Though the battle is far from over, a recent study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry outlines not just one but three different subtypes of ADHD – and two of these are far from the ‘disruptive schoolboy’ that the condition is often stereotyped as.
In the study, the researchers investigated the brain scans of almost 1200 children: 446 of those children had been diagnosed (some were being treated with medication) and 708 children who had not been diagnosed with the condition.
Amongst the children with ADHD, the scientists noticed three different patterns in their neurochemical signalling, which led them to three different subtypes of the condition.
As the researchers West China Hospital of Sichuan University worked to categorise the different types of ADHD, they were labelled as follows: Severe-combined with emotional dysregulation; Predominantly hyperactive/impulsive; Predominantly inattentive.
Among the ADHD community, the fact different people experience different constellations of symptoms is already well known. In their paper, the authors explain that learning more about the underlying neurobiology – what causes different types of symptom profiles – could be a gateway to developing more personalized treatments.
With all this in mind, the long-needed movements to update the ADHD diagnostic criteria should gain more traction, as we as a society move to understand the diverse ways in which neurodivergence can present.
Moreover, it is hoped that a greater understanding of the different subtypes of ADHD will also assist with the support and treatment of individuals, allowing personalised care plans to be drawn up, and more bespoke support administered.
And that is good news for everyone.
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