04/11/2022
Pretty disgusted would publish such an unsubstantiated, ableist article with underlying misogyny. Let’s talk about it.
IDs:
1 - each slide has a mustard background with an article screenshot and my writing in black above or below. Article title reads “I may not be a doctor… but I’m almost certain you have ADHD - Jack Vening”. My title reads “Can we stop perpetuating the idea everyone suddenly has ADHD?”
2 - Article text reads “Well it’s official, you have ADHD now. I hate to be the one to break it to you – I imagine you’d prefer to hear it from a doctor or a psychologist, or even just someone who isn’t banned from entering hospitals”. My text reads “No, not everyone has ADHD - it's still underdiagnosed in many groups. Increase in those wanting assessments is due to awareness, not an increase in ADHD people. Articles like this that imply ADHD isn't real or is just something we all have, rather than causing individuals to need help and support perpetuates stigma.”
3 - Article reads “But with the way things were going – the ever-increasing explosion in adult ADHD diagnoses, the reassessment of who’s been chronically overlooked (read: women), the course-correcting of the course-correcting – you must have known this was coming. By now most of your friends have all been diagnosed, it was just a matter of time”. My text reads “Increase in diagnosis of women is due to misogynistic diagnostic criteria & bias, and many adults are learning who they are due to changes in both awareness and to how society functions since the pandemic. It is sexist to imply ADHD women are not in need of support”.
4 - Article reads “Welcome to the new stage of your life, where everyone seems to have the same neurological condition, or is at least somewhere on the same spectrum”. My text reads “No, we aren't all ADHD or indeed neurodivergent. Society would function very differently if we were, and neurodivergent people wouldn't struggle the way we do, lacking support in every area of our lives”.
5- Article reads same as 4. My text reads “ADHD is still only seen in a minority portion of the population. It being talked about more doesn't change that - and there's no surprise we are overrepresented on the dopamine slot machine that is the internet.”
6 - Article reads “Many of my friends are at this or that stage of the consultation process. Meanwhile, a growing cohort of ultra-online zillennial Twitter warriors are claiming ADHD removes all object permanence for some reason. They can be ignored for the most part (they’ll cease existing as soon as they leave the room anyway)”. My text reads “No, we're not saying we don't have object permanence - we're saying that we can struggle with it as part of our wider attention-based traits. Talking on social media about our experiences doesn't make us "warriors" or fakers. We are finding identity and community in a neurotypical society.”
7 - Article text reads “This is not to diminish the significance of anyone’s diagnosis. Many people have had their lives improve dramatically, almost overnight, and I’m one of them”. My text reads “You can't write a whole article diminishing our experiences and saying that everyone experiences what we do, and then say that you aren't doing that - it’s manipulative.
Diagnosis changes lives of people who have had no support and led traumatic and difficult lives due to lacking identity and support.”
8 - Article reads “The threshold for diagnosis seems to be an open question too. Have you ever missed a bus? Have you ever been eating a strand of spaghetti only to find your lover was unwittingly eating the other end in a romantic tableau?”. My text reads “Most assessments are much more than this. Many wait years for initial assessment, we have to provide endless forms and anecdotes of our childhood and current experiences, and assessments can bring up previous trauma. It's insulting to imply we get diagnosis or support so simply.”
9 - Article reads “Personally I think it’s unrelated that the 21st century’s dominant modes of labour and education and entertainment are, even at a glance, disastrous to the human body and mind. Sitting all day is turning our central nervous systems into string cheese? Blue light is Nutribulleting our brains? None of my business!”. My text reads “There's certainly discussions to be had about capitalism's impact on ADHD folk. But, changes to modern society have not suddenly caused ADHD traits in those who didn't already experience them - it has just exacerbated them or the ways we masked or coped were taken away (such as WFH taking away significant structure).”
10 - my text reads “It’s extraordinarily damaging for outlets as large as the Guardian perpetuating stigma and this disgusting rumour not based at all in fact that everyone has ADHD or that it’s suddenly trendy.
ADHD folk are still under diagnosed, unsupported, and disproportionately represented in areas including the he criminal justice system, debt, addiction and more.
Let’s stop pretending that an uptake means it’s fun to have ADHD or that everyone wants to have it.”
