Dangerous coverage of ADHD means women like me don’t feel like we can ask for help

It truly speaks to the privilege of male patients that “well the NHS said I don’t have it” is being used as proof the clinics are over-diagnosing. Anyone who’s spent years on waiting lists and passed from doctor to the next can tell you this isn’t the gotcha this man thinks it is.‌

For instance, it took nine years from my mother first reporting signs I had of Lupus to doctors, for me only to receive a diagnosis after I almost died.‌

I saw five different specialists, tried four different birth controls, countless scans, more a&e trips than I can remember and a total hysterectomy over 13 years before I was diagnosed with endometriosis – during which time I was continuously told there was no endometriosis by the NHS.‌

“It’s widely known that women are taken less seriously than men when seeking medical care.”

It’s widely known that women are taken less seriously than men when seeking medical care. The gender pain gap means that women who go to emergency rooms in the US wait 16 minutes longer than men to receive medication for abdominal pain – and they are only 7% likely to be offered it in the first place.

This is also the case for women with ADHD, in many cases, it’s missed in childhood because the stereotype of ADHD is naughty boys, while girls learn to mask their traits in order to be viewed as good girls.

The ADHD Foundation estimates girls in the UK are three times less likely than boys to be diagnosed and supported with ADHD and on average are diagnosed 9 years later than boys. The charity also estimates that 50 to 75 per cent of the 1 million UK women with ADHD are undiagnosed. This massively affects women’s education, careers and relationships.

Even in the documentary itself women with ADHD aren’t believed, the show was prompted by a mother who was concerned that a 21-year-old woman had been diagnosed with what they had perceived as too quickly by a private clinic. This casts doubt on the woman as if she isn’t old enough to take control of her own healthcare.

‌It’s convenient that the reporter disclosed to the NHS when undergoing the assessment that he was making a BBC documentary, meaning he bypassed the up to five-year waiting list and was given an extensive assessment. This compares to the private assessment where he did what many online have accused of “cosplaying” disability.

I know many women who wouldn’t have their diagnosis if it wasn’t for a private clinic, these are bright incredible women who have been able to reclaim their lives and who they are because of a diagnosis.

However I don’t feel ready to join them yet, and until the stigma and shame is taken away I don’t know if I will.