Salvesen Mindroom Centre, a charity championing all forms of neurodiversity, is marking ADHD Awareness Month by presenting in-depth research on female Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
“The neurodevelopmental condition affects approximately 2-7% of people worldwide but is less likely to be identified, diagnosed and treated in women and girls”, says pioneering global expert on the subject, Lotta Borg Skoglund.
The distinguished Swedish psychiatrist will deliver her findings at the annual Salvesen Lecture in Edinburgh this month (October 30). She believes symptoms are being misinterpreted and that a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms is required to reduce stigma, relieve suffering and improve the lives of females with ADHD.
She will present her inspiring research challenging outdated views on female ADHD and highlight the knowledge gaps in ADHD for women and girls – reflecting the theme of this year’s ADHD Awareness Month “Awareness is the Key!”
Lotta Borg Skoglund says: “Most of what is known about the challenges of living with a neurodivergent brain comes from research conducted around boys and men. Neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD, ADD and autism are less likely to be diagnosed and treated in females, due to a difference in symptom display, co-occurrence, and societal gender expectations.
“Girls and young women with these conditions mask their difficulties and compensate with energy-consuming strategies. They are not invisible if we know what to ask for and listen to.”
Alan Thornburrow, CEO of Salvesen Mindroom Centre said: “We are dealing year-round with unprecedented levels of people seeking help for neurodivergent conditions, including ADHD. In the Edinburgh region alone, ten adults are being referred for diagnosis every day.
“ADHD Awareness Month provides a vital opportunity to raise the profile of these conditions – and the support available – across wider society. Anyone with undiagnosed ADHD can face significant difficulties in various aspects of their lives yet it can also enormously validate and enable understanding more about how we are “wired”, our inherent strengths and our ability to contribute. That’s why it is so vital to raise awareness to move from a deficit model which is all about what’s difficult or challenging towards a more positive and hopeful message about strengths.
“Lotta is an internationally acknowledged expert in her field and we’re delighted she has agreed to share her expertise. This is an important opportunity to learn about the neuroscience and epidemiology behind female ADHD and to discover how we can address the gaps in knowledge to improve life for women and girls experiencing this condition which can impact lives so significantly.”
A senior consultant physician trained in general medicine and psychiatry, Lotta Borg Skoglund is also an associate professor in psychiatry at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at Uppsala University and the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet.
The free-to-attend event is being hosted by the Salvesen Mindroom Centre in collaboration with the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre at Edinburgh University, a longstanding partnership that seeks to combine research and practical approaches to improve the lives of neurodivergent people and their families.
In addition to this, research conducted by Salvesen Mindroom Centre also highlighted that, while ADHD comes with its challenges, it may confer certain strengths that make life more enjoyable.
Some individuals with ADHD – male and female -have the ability to achieve intense, immersive, and long-lasting states of concentration when doing things that they particularly enjoy. In the ADHD community, this mental state is known as hyperfocus.
Researchers are only starting to look into the cognitive and neural underpinnings of this phenomenon, but those who have discussed their personal experiences with hyperfocus have emphasised the cognitive energy and boost in creativity that tend to accompany this state.
Many people with ADHD explain that they use these periodic states of intense focus to cope with the demands of modern working life and compensate for their general difficulties with attention.
The Salvesen Lecture is open to the public both in person and online and will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Salvesen Mindroom Centre’s CEO, Alan Thornburrow. It takes place between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at The Larch Lecture Theatre, The Nucleus Building, University of Edinburgh.
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