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ADHD and Autism not taken seriously for girls?

Unique challenges are presented to anyone that enters into existence in this world. Females endure the tougher and more painful process of giving birth, deal with a consistent barrage of stereotypes that attempt to persuade them to look a certain way, live their life where the presence of breast cancer is always a possibility. Now a researcher in Sweden says girls with autism or ADHD may not be taken seriously by healthcare professionals, who may downplay or misinterpret their problems.

Not much is explained in the story from UPI, but it’s not poor journalism. A neighbor of mine works on the UPI sports beat and informed me that several writers post short stories for syndication in Internet and newspaper feeds.

However, the story does provide another international insight into autism. Whether this downplay of issues is only present in Sweden or throughout the world, it doesn’t take long to find possible explanations. I’m not an ADD or ADHD expert, but autism is far more prevalent in males than females (four boys for every girl, according to the latest research). Not surprisingly, you’ll find a lot of male subjects on autism profile stories. Ironically, the most prominent autism figure of today is female: animal doctor and professor Temple Grandin. Grandin doesn’t shy away from speaking about the subject, but for those not familiar with her work or the disability in general, there’s a potential to misinterpret the disability as something that only afflicts boys.

Most papers or Internet news sources will likely run the feed and think little more of the subject, but there’s definitely a story potential to see how girls with autism or ADHD are treated in countries where both disabilities are heavily addressed.

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Mike Peden
Mike Peden brings a rarely discussed perspective on autism news: he was diagnosed with the disability in 1991. His explorations on autism led to an Alliance for Community Media Hometown Video Award in 2008 in the Documentary - Public Awareness category, and he currently deciphers evolving trends in autism coverage.
Mike Peden

Mike Peden

Mike Peden brings a rarely discussed perspective on autism news: he was diagnosed with the disability in 1991. His explorations on autism led to an Alliance for Community Media Hometown Video Award in 2008 in the Documentary - Public Awareness category, and he currently deciphers evolving trends in autism coverage.

0 thoughts on “ADHD and Autism not taken seriously for girls?

  • @checkeredchaos@xanga – My daughter was extreme, and was diagnosed with ADHD Type C with co-morbid learning disabilities and violent tendencies. We tried drugs, but did not get help with refining them, so I tried nutritional and holistic methods. (The results were more satisfactory.) This brings me to the question: from where this conditions originate? If genetic, it came from me. I was diagnosed with dyslexia while in college, which explained my failing grades. A friend had become certified as an early education teacher with diagnostic training and used me as a guinea pig. When my daughter was tested, I joined her… I also had ADHD. It’s not something that is simply ‘outgrown’. It affects more than just boys, and sometimes, one can compensate for it without drugs. I prefer the dietary adjustments recommended by http://www.feingold.org. My baby is third from the left on the strip of success stories.

    @koopagirl@xanga – One of my friends has an autistic daughter. It’s not just boys.

    Reply
  • I think my daughter might be one of the two. Her uncle has autism. I was afraid if I had a boy that I’d have to worry about it, but when I found I had a girl, I stopped worrying. But there’s just things that she does that make me wonder if she’s mentally okay.

    Reply
  • The first person I went to see about whether or not I had AD/HD told me women didn’t have it. I told him I would take my questions elsewhere. I was not formally diagnosed until halfway through college and it was because a friend had hounded me for 4 years suggesting that it might be a possibility for me. I had never heard of girls having it, and I didn’t think it was that common. I do not take medication for it, and I have found strength in knowing that I am smart, and I can learn, I just have all these other things going on around me, and it’s not my fault. I think there are many people still that believe autism and AD/HD are disorders that males have, and for a girl to have it, they have to display very extreme behaviors. The statistics I’ve seen about girls and AD/HD say that more males have it, and few girls have the hyperactive type. I wonder though, if this is because there are girls who have not been diagnosed and there are girls who show their hyperactivity in more subtle ways? Or perhaps they are more pressured to conform socially than males are, at an earlier age and thus their hyperactivity manifests in other ways?

    Reply

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