You may have noticed a rise in diagnoses of autism and ADHD in women over the past few years. While complex, this increase points to the fact that professionals have been missing the unique symptoms of autism and ADHD in women.
After a diagnosis [or self-diagnosis], many women gain the confidence to accommodate for themselves, seek support and let their mask fall. Armed with the right information, you enjoy a much more enriching life after diagnosis, understanding yourself on a much deeper level. I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD three years ago. As a woman I was misdiagnosed and mistreated for 15+ years. An accurate diagnosis meant that I sought out the correct information and accurately managed my symptoms. I felt empowered to make significant changes in my life to accommodate for my AuDHD and as a result, am happier and healthier. It’s not an easy path, but it was worth the battle.
Whether you’ve been newly diagnosed or suspect you have autism and/or ADHD, this article includes everything you need to know about autism and ADHD in women.
Note: When I mention women, I do not mean that as an exclusionary term. Gender expression is complex, and your experience should not be dictated by anyone but yourself. Instead, I use this term to reference anyone assigned female at birth [AFAB] or who lives as a woman. Gender non-conforming and trans people experience persistent and overwhelming obstacles in their lives, including within the medical system. They are welcome and embraced in this little corner of the internet.
What is Autism and ADHD?
Autism and ADHD are neuro developmental conditions that affect the way people think, learn, and interact with the world. Both conditions impact the inner workings of someone’s brain. Autism is often characterised by differences in the way someone experience social interactions, how they communicate with others and their overall behaviour. You might be familiar with some traits such as being sensitive to sensory stimulus, preferring routine or struggling with social cues. On the other hand, ADHD impacts someone’s attention, impulse control and activity. You might be familiar with someone with ADHD being unable to focus on a task or mismanaging personal finances because they are impulsive.
While these are often separate and distinct conditions, they frequently co-occur. It is predicted that 50-70% of autistic people also exhibit ADHD symptoms. There is, however, some discussion about whether that is because there isn’t a good understanding of the impact autism has on attention. Regardless, this common co-occurrence is why the neurodivergent community developed the term AuDHD, to speak to those who experience symptoms from both conditions.
What is AuDHD?
As mentioned, AuDHD is when someone is experiencing the symptoms of both autism and ADHD. While some symptoms are the same between both conditions, someone with AuDHD may mention the internal conflict that they experience. For example; while autism creates a desire for routine and predictability, people with ADHD seek out novelty, looking to change things up to remain interested. I feel this turmoil often and it is very difficult to explain to someone who doesn’t experience AuDHD. It can often feel as though your brain is fighting itself.
What are Autism and ADHD symptoms in women?
It is nothing new that women are not given the same treatment as men when it comes to the medical system. Women are constantly misdiagnosed, dismissed and incorrectly treated. Women even ignore their own bodies and brains when they need help. There are stories of women labeling stroke or heart attack symptoms as simply ‘anxiety’ or indigestion’.
When it comes to conditions such as autism and ADHD, misdiagnosis is a huge factor. These conditions show up differently in young girls and boys. Symptoms in boys are better understood meaning that boys are often diagnosed earlier and girls go undiagnosed or given a diagnosis such as anxiety, bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder.
For me, I was diagnosed with anxiety, panic disorder and bipolar disorder for many years. I also was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, where my trauma was ‘to blame’ for things that later turned out to be autism. For example; I was unable to catch the train to work without getting off multiple times, experiencing dizziness and a racing heart. In reality, I was overstimulated and distressed from the sensory input. Mental health is a complex web that is difficult to untangle, but most therapists are simply not adequately trained on autism and ADHD in women and research is lagging. There are 1000’s of stories just like mine where the system has let women down.
Autism Symptoms
As for symptoms of autism in women, they are also complex. They can include, but are not limited to:
- Social anxiety & introversion
- Planning & rehearsing conversations beforehand to compensate for missing social cues
- Hyper-sensitivity to smell, sound, light or touch
- Difficulty with executive function such as time management, working memory or organisisng
- Difficulty adapting to new situations
- Poor self-care
- Emotional outbursts or tantrums
- Intensive interests which many be typical of their age group & gender and therefore seen as ‘acceptable’, not being seen in the same way as a boy or man having intensive interests. For example; if a little girl is interested in celebrities, this may be dismissed as ‘normal’
- Good at masking and therefore seen as sociable, not displaying the same social isolation as boys or men
- Practicing or reminding themselves to make eye contact
- Sleep issues and disturbances
- Stimming behavior such as picking at skin, playing with hair or spinning
ADHD Symptoms
When it comes to ADHD, there are understood to be three types:
- Inattentive type
- Hyperactive type
- Combination type
The symptoms are different under each of these types and this impacts diagnosis. For example; boys are more likely to be hyperactive type which is much more obvious and noteworthy, while girls may be inattentive type and seen simply as ‘daydreaming’. Combination type is as it sounds, a combination of symptoms from the inattentive and hyperactive type.
Inattentive ADHD type symptoms include:
- Trouble staying focused and on task
- Appear to not be paying attention and ‘zoning out’
- Not completing tasks
- Unable to organise and set priorities
- Procrastination for tasks that they find boring or mundane
- Losing or misplacing things
- Forgetful
Hyperactive ADHD type sympoms include:
- Fidgeting
- Feeling restless
- Trouble staying quiet
- Over explaining, ‘info-dumping’ or talking excessively
- Lack of self-restraint
- Unable to be patient
- Difficulty understanding social boundaries
Why is Autism and ADHD undiagnosed in women?
There are many reasons why women are often misdiagnosed.
Research for both autism and ADHD in women is significantly lacking as it has primarily been focused around how both conditions impact boys and men.
For practitioners, education around these conditions in women is also lacking as a result of poor research into the space. Education is again focused on how these conditions show up in men and boys, with little consideration to the complex dynamics that surround girls and women in society. This results in girls being misdiagnosed when they are younger and therefore many more women being diagnosed autistic or ADHD at an older age. However, there are still many clinicians who believe autism specifically can only be diagnosed as a child.
There is also the impact of socialisation. Young girls and women do a very good job of masking because they are ‘taught’ by society to be a particular way. They are often not afforded the same grace that society gives to boys or men. Girls should be more polite; therefore, they practice what they will say in social interactions, appearing to have no difficulty with social cues. From birth, girls are scolded for being loud, hyperactive or talkative, so they don’t appear to be as hyperactive, instead internalising that energy resulting in hard to control thoughts.
You can read more about this complex experience in this research article published in Qualitative Health Research about the experience of six late diagnosed women.
Resources for Women Newly Diagnosed
While some resources already exist, my goal with this blog is to develop a database of all the resources I wish I had when I was newly diagnosed as AuDHD at the age of 27. Until then, here are some of my favourite resources:
- Unmasking Autism: The Power of Embracing our Hidden Neurodiversity by Devon Price
- ADHD 2.0: New Science & Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction from Childhood through Adulthood by Edward Hallowell & John Ratey
- How to ADHD Youtube Channel
This post was about everything you need to know about autism and ADHD in women.