Being a Woman Is 100% Significant to My Experiences of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism: Exploring the Gendered Implications of an Adulthood Combined Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnosis

Autistic people and those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are at a high risk of developing an eating disorder. While there is limited evidence on the relationship between other forms of neurodivergence and eating disorders, research suggests associations between giftedness, intellectual disability, obsessive–compulsive disorder, psychosis, Tourette’s syndrome, and disordered eating. Factors underlying disordered eating and/or eating disorder risk for neurodivergent people are multifaceted and complex, encompassing a wide range of intertwined psychosocial, environmental, and biological processes. Moreover, research shows that neurodivergent individuals experience poorer treatment outcomes compared to neurotypical individuals. However, there is a paucity of research in this area overall. More specifically, lived experience-led research remains rare, despite its critical role for improving individualised eating disorder care, as well as mental healthcare more broadly. Indeed, the importance of eating disorder care individuation is increasingly being recognised, particularly within the context of neurodivergence, given the heterogeneous experiences and support needs of neurodivergent people affected by disordered eating and/or eating disorders. Furthermore, despite documented overlaps between various forms of neurodivergence (e.g., co-occurring autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), research looking at eating disorders in the context of neurodivergence through a transdiagnostic perspective is scarce. This lived experience-led narrative review aims to shed light on the intersectional factors underlying elevated disordered eating and/or eating disorder risk for neurodivergent individuals. First, an overview of prevalence data is provided, followed by a thematic framework identifying factors underlying disordered eating and/or eating disorder risk in relation to neurodivergence. A critical appraisal of current eating disorder research and care is then offered before suggestions for neurodiversity-affirming eating disorder care are made. In this view, this paper offers a foundation for future empirical work in this nascent field of inquiry by providing a lived experience-led, transdiagnostic, and intersectional account of eating disorders in the context of neurodivergence.

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Neurodiversity and Non-Verbal Norms in a World Designed for the Majority

Yin,

Silveus

2024

Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development

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Neurodivergent people experience constant systemic oppression and discrimination that causes trauma. Our current neuro-normative society benefits those who are considered “normal” and harms those who are considered “abnormal.” Neurodivergent counselors also experience discrimination within the world of counselor education. This chapter highlights the importance of increasing neurodiversity-affirming counselor education and provides concrete strategies to do so. Actionable steps include counselor educators' self-reflection on biases, putting neurodiversity-affirming strategies into practice in the classroom, and reassessing the criteria used to evaluate counselor-in-training performance. Specific examples are demonstrated in a case study of a neurodivergent counselor-in-training providing services for a neurodivergent client. A paradigm shift to be neurodiversity-affirming in counselor education practices is crucial for promoting trauma-informed gatekeeping in the counseling world.

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Being a Woman Is 100% Significant to My Experiences of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism: Exploring the Gendered Implications of an Adulthood Combined Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnosis

Cited by 4 publications

References 47 publications

Neurodiversity, Gender, and Work

Neurodiversity, Gender, and Work

Neurodivergence, intersectionality, and eating disorders: a lived experience-led narrative review

Neurodiversity and Non-Verbal Norms in a World Designed for the Majority

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