International Women's Day 2024: Challenging Neurodiversity Stereotypes & Inspiring Inclusion
International Women’s Day 2024, celebrated each year on the 8th of March, is a day for championing the achievements of women, as well as acknowledging challenges surrounding women’s equality.
The theme this year is #InspireInclusion: “When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.” – internationalwomensday.com
“Collectively, let’s forge a more inclusive world for women” - We often see inequality and lack of inclusion when it comes to understanding neurodiversity in women, there is a lot of work still to be done in this area, and to amplify the perspectives of neurodivergent women.
That is why in this blog, we have decided to explore the many strengths and talents of neurodivergent women, dispel common myths and much more.
Recognising the Strengths and Talents of Neurodivergent Women
When going on that journey of understanding or diagnosis it can be easy to focus on the challenges. After all, most of what many individuals have been taught about neurodifferences may have been focused around negative terminology, a ‘deficit model’. Many terms such as disorder, deficit and specific learning difficulty by definition imply that these thinking styles are ‘less than’ in comparison to what society deems to be a ‘normal’ thinking style. And yet there are many examples of incredibly successful neurodivergent women. Take a look below at some examples of successful neurodivergent women in the media:
Jennifer Aniston (Dyslexia)
Billie Eilish (Tourette Syndrome)
Simone Biles (ADHD)
Temple Grandin (Autism)
As well as these iconic women, there are many examples of non-famous and successful neurodivergent women. Lexxic work globally, in almost every sector, and we come across many successful neurodivergent women, everywhere. They shine due to their unique strengths and skills, not their challenges. And yet, when neurodiversity is defined it is often still portrayed in a negative light across society. For example, the default definition for dyslexia tends to be ‘challenges with reading and writing’ rather than ‘strengths in entrepreneurial and creative thinking’. But we know these strengths exist, and it’s the many unique talents of neurodivergent women that we should be bringing to light and raising awareness of. For example, some common skills that many neurodivergent individuals possess include:
Creativity
Outside-the-box-thinking
Great problem-solving skills
Empathy
Detail-oriented
And lots more…
Dispelling Myths around Neurodiversity in Women
Our understanding of neurodiversity is evolving and changing over time. One key area where this is apparent is in the gender differences present in the diagnosis of autism and ADHD. If you picture the stereotypes of these neurodifferences, many will most likely picture a boy or a man, and there is a clear reason for that.
When researchers were developing the tools and methods to diagnose autism and ADHD, their test population was mostly men and boys, which has led to many believing in the myth that ADHD and autism doesn’t exist in women or girls. Yes there are much higher numbers of males diagnosed than females, but it is not hard to see why. The tests arguably set women up for failure. However, most experienced clinicians are now trained to account for a female presentation of neurodifferences, so this should not put women off going for an assessment. If you have any concerns, you should be able to discuss this with your clinician in advance of an assessment.
Women and girls can absolutely be diagnosed with ADHD and autism, however the presentation of these neurodifferences often do not look like the stereotype. There are many reasons for this. The first is about gender roles; from a young age, girls may be given baby dolls and be encouraged to care and nurture, while boys may be given dinosaurs, or action themed toys and be encouraged to be outgoing and energetic. Children learn from a young age what is ‘expected’ of them in the gender roles that they have been taught, and they tend to fulfil these types of behaviour. What they may also do as a result, is mask their true behaviours, which simply means hiding or minimising their own traits. This could mean sitting still even though they are desperate to stand up and move around, or forcing eye contact because that is what is expected of the social situation. So, it is a myth that ADHD and autism does not exist in women, it just may not present like you expect it to.
The Prevalence of Late Diagnosis
As a result of these myths and stereotypes, many women do not realise that they are neurodivergent until later in life. Society has always placed incredibly high expectations on women, which can encourage masking behaviours and lead to women facing challenges alone with their traits of neurodiversity. Research suggests that often when women have sought support, they may have been dismissed or misdiagnosed.
However, the rise of advocates and neurodiversity content creators on social media have provided a platform for many neurodivergent women to share their traits, lived experiences, and strategies for overcoming any challenges they may encounter. This enables more women to see others like them and relate to a wider scale of lived experience, rather than what has historically been more-so the societal stereotype. These advocates and content creators are real individuals that many women can identify with, and this may lead to a realisation that in some instances the challenges they face are due to a neurodifference, rather than misdiagnosed mental health challenges or hormonal fluctuations; which women are often encouraged to attribute their challenges to in the first instance.
It is no surprise then that in the last few years, there has been a huge increase in women seeking diagnosis of a neurodifference.
Amplifying Neurodivergent Women’s Perspectives in Society
To empower neurodivergent women to thrive as their authentic selves, it is important for us to amplify their perspectives. This in turn, will enable us to understand more about how neurodiversity impacts women, both positively and negatively. We can do this by following female neurodivergent content creators and advocates, by creating and providing platforms for our neurodivergent female colleagues, family, and friends to share their lived experiences, and most importantly, by listening to neurodivergent women, as they are the experts in their own experiences.
To learn more about how you can support and empower neurodivergent women and develop your knowledge of neurodiversity, book in a chat with one of our team today by clicking here.
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