One last hot take and then Iâll shut up: the reason adhd is framed first and foremost as a learning disability when it is in fact more apt to call it an emotional processing disorder is bc our society is only concerned w the ways neurological disorders impede a personâs ability to âfunctionâ aka get a job and contribute positively to capitalist society. How adhd affects interpersonal behaviors and emotional health is only relevant insofar as it relates to a personâs level of societal functioning PERIOD. There is no interest in improving our actual livelihoods
This is why girls are often not diagnosed w adhd until they are much older, bc they are forced to develop certain social awareness and self-surveillance capacities at an extremely young age and thus donât perform âpoorlyâ in the areas usually looked at to signify the disorder. But that doesnât mean girls donât take that distress out thru other avenues, just that the many alternative iterations of the disorder are ignored by professionals bc they donât matter as far as society is concerned, as long as a girl is performing âwell enoughâ
