Can ADHD Bias Cut Both Ways?
Submitted by Boys and Schools Blog
I always feel like I’m walking into a minefield when I talk about ADHD. On the one hand, I don’t want to diminish the problems faced by those who truly do struggle with the disorder. On the other hand, there is legitimate concern about over-diagnosis of ADHD among boys, the possibility that classic boy traits might be mistaken for ADHD, or that long-term medication for ADHD in boys might have unexpected and negative effects. So I want to be sensitive to those with ADHD, while still acknowledging the concerns of those who worry about over-diagnosis. Theoretically, this shouldn’t be a problem, as wrong diagnoses hurt both parties by trivializing the disorder for those who have it and wrongly treating those who don’t. Then again, theoretically, Britney Spears might join a convent and I might win the lottery. Splitting hairs like that is generally a good way to please no one. And yet, I’m going to persist. Because I’m a glutton for punishment, I guess.
So, one of the things that is interesting when you do some research on ADHD studies is that everyone is very much aware of the gender gap in ADHD diagnosis. The interesting thing is the reaction is very often not to question whether boys are being overdiagnosed, but to claim that girls are being badly underdiagnosed. Personally, I see no reason why both can’t be equally true, but to me it’s very telling that the first response isn’t to look at how boys might be the subjects of medical bias but to assume that the bias cuts against girls. To pile on, consider this story about ADHD in adults, the upshot of which is that it seems that adult women suffering from ADHD tend to experience more problems with the disorder (or higher impairment) than men. The conclsion again focuses on the problems of diagnosing and treating ADHD in women–and I’m not saying that this is an inappropriate conclusion, given the subject of the study. But still, I can’t help but wonder . . . is it possible that while women may be underdiagnosed and undertreated, isn’t it also possible that men, being (possibly) overdiagnosed as boys, show less difficulty as a group because fewer of them truly have serious ADHD? Ok, I could be wrong. But I just thought it was something to think about.
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