I think underdiagnosis of ADHD and ASD is common for anyone and everyone. The more I learn about it, the more I question whether anyone who ever has or will exist has complete brain function. I don’t think it’s possible really and it’s just which flavor.
Chance_Orchid_3137 on
From the abstract:
> there is limited knowledge about experiences of females with ADHD across hormonal life phases
This tracks with “male” being the default in most medical settings, honestly. It’s well known by now that symptoms of neurodivergence present differently in men and women (I’m particularly interested in future studies, hopefully, that cover symptoms in intersex and nonbinary individuals as well). As someone who slipped through the cracks for a long time, I really hope these studies continue to receive funding so doctors are more aware of what to look for
Lonely_Noyaaa on
This kind of underdiagnosis doesn’t just mean no label it means years of not getting the support or tools someone actually needs to function and thrive
Femizzle on
Well at least they are finally admitting it.
tisd-lv-mf84 on
Environmental ASD and ADHD. We need better understanding how the market pushes and influences a product/agenda.
gametime453 on
How did you possibly get to the claim of research suggesting under diagnosis from the article cited.
This article is about hormonal fluctuations based a survey of people who already have a diagnosis. They only mentioned the underdiagnosis in the initial background summary of other studies.
Commonpleas on
Underdiagnosis in women doesn’t mean ADHD is ubiquitous.
A clinical disorder requires persistent, cross-context impairment, not isolated traits everyone experiences under stress.
A diagnosis of ADHD requires **all of the following** (simplified but accurate):
* A persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity
* Multiple symptom domains
* Cross-situational impairment (home, work, school)
* Functional impairment (not just annoyance)
* Onset in childhood
* Exclusion of alternative explanations (stress, sleep deprivation, trauma, anxiety, depression, burnout, substance use)
If having one symptom means you have ADHD, then diagnostic criteria are meaningless, and people with actual impairment lose.
donutfan420 on
I thought we knew this already
Fartfenoogin on
I’ve been hearing about underdiagnosis in women for many years now- does anyone in the field know why it appears nothing is being done to correct this? Is there just poor or outdated training for clinicians?
slaymaker1907 on
One major weakness of the paper was that it did not exclude those with elevated depression scores in particular. We can debate about anxiety, but depression has an enormous impact on cognition and attention. In my opinion, they should have excluded anyone beyond the mild range on depression.
10 Comments
I think underdiagnosis of ADHD and ASD is common for anyone and everyone. The more I learn about it, the more I question whether anyone who ever has or will exist has complete brain function. I don’t think it’s possible really and it’s just which flavor.
From the abstract:
> there is limited knowledge about experiences of females with ADHD across hormonal life phases
This tracks with “male” being the default in most medical settings, honestly. It’s well known by now that symptoms of neurodivergence present differently in men and women (I’m particularly interested in future studies, hopefully, that cover symptoms in intersex and nonbinary individuals as well). As someone who slipped through the cracks for a long time, I really hope these studies continue to receive funding so doctors are more aware of what to look for
This kind of underdiagnosis doesn’t just mean no label it means years of not getting the support or tools someone actually needs to function and thrive
Well at least they are finally admitting it.
Environmental ASD and ADHD. We need better understanding how the market pushes and influences a product/agenda.
How did you possibly get to the claim of research suggesting under diagnosis from the article cited.
This article is about hormonal fluctuations based a survey of people who already have a diagnosis. They only mentioned the underdiagnosis in the initial background summary of other studies.
Underdiagnosis in women doesn’t mean ADHD is ubiquitous.
A clinical disorder requires persistent, cross-context impairment, not isolated traits everyone experiences under stress.
A diagnosis of ADHD requires **all of the following** (simplified but accurate):
* A persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity
* Multiple symptom domains
* Cross-situational impairment (home, work, school)
* Functional impairment (not just annoyance)
* Onset in childhood
* Exclusion of alternative explanations (stress, sleep deprivation, trauma, anxiety, depression, burnout, substance use)
If having one symptom means you have ADHD, then diagnostic criteria are meaningless, and people with actual impairment lose.
I thought we knew this already
I’ve been hearing about underdiagnosis in women for many years now- does anyone in the field know why it appears nothing is being done to correct this? Is there just poor or outdated training for clinicians?
One major weakness of the paper was that it did not exclude those with elevated depression scores in particular. We can debate about anxiety, but depression has an enormous impact on cognition and attention. In my opinion, they should have excluded anyone beyond the mild range on depression.