Women are sorely misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed for autism, ADHD and other learning difficulties. ADHD symptoms in girls tend to present themselves in withdrawn and daydreamy behaviour. Whereas, boys with ADHD tend to be more energetic and hyperactive. Gender roles and stereotypes lead teachers and some parents to overlook these symptoms because of misconceptions that girls tend to be quiet and gentle.
As a young woman with ADHD who has never taken medication and was diagnosed aged 8, proper representation of neurodiversity is important to me in the media and public sphere.
So, to celebrate International Women’s Day today, here are eight inspiring and influential neurodiverse women to read about:
These women do not achieve “despite” their neurodivergence, but alongside it.
Cher
Known for her hit song Believe released in 1998, which sold over 11 million copies worldwide, Cher struggled with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia in school. She found reading and arithmetic difficult and even dropped out when she was 16. Since then, Cher has become world famous for her singing voice, flamboyant stage outfits and songs like Believe and I Got You Babe.
Cher learned by listening but still struggled; enduring years of being told she wasn’t “living up to her full potential.” However, she could not have proved them any more wrong with her brilliant success in her 61-year long career. She has won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival as well as 3 Golden Globes, an Emmy, a Grammy and an Oscar.
After decades of success and adventure, Cher found out she was dyslexic in her thirties; mainly from her son’s own diagnosis. “It all fit together.”, as she once described.
Now, she is an advocate for children with dyslexia and dyscalculia and works to spread awareness.
Emma Watson
United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador and actress Emma Watson easily shows the triumphs people with ADHD can achieve. She has degrees from the University of Oxford and Brown University respectively. Additionally, she earned straight-A’s in her GCSEs and A-levels.
Emma also launched the United Nations’ HeForShe campaign, which campaigns for gender equality. On top of this, she has worked with Camfed International; an NGO supporting girls’ education in rural Sub-Saharan Africa.
She is known for her campaigning for women’s rights and playing intelligent women in her films, not unlike her personality in real life. Her intelligence and determination inspire women and girls to speak up against sexism and value their minds.
She was diagnosed as a child and has taken medication since then.
Simone Biles
History’s most decorated gymnast, with 37 medals in the World Championships and Olympics, Simone Biles has spoken openly about her ADHD diagnosis. She seeks to break the stigma of having ADHD and taking medication for it. In one tweet from 2016 she stated: “Having ADHD, and taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of nothing that I’m afraid to let people know.”
Biles has also been open about struggles with her mental health, after experiencing the “twisties” in the 2020 Olympics. The “twisties” is a mental block known in the gymnastics community, (golfers experience a similar problem called the yips). Gymnasts can lose control during routines and potentially injure themselves from landing incorrectly. Simone Biles shows the importance of speaking out about neurodiversity and prioritising mental health, and how it reduces stigma.
She has also countered casual misogyny with her famous, “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals” response after a Dancing With The Stars judge told her she should smile at compliments she received.
Greta Thunberg
The environmental activist behind Fridays For Future speaks often about her Asperger’s and OCD. She once tweeted, “I have Asperger’s and that means I’m a little different from the norm.” Greta has frequently reminded critics that Asperger’s not an illness; and to her, it is a superpower.
She has spoken at the United Nations, calling world leaders out for their lack of climate action, and organised protests stretching across the world.
Her superpowers have helped her in her fight for climate action and justice. She has said that her intense focus on subjects, that comes with her condition, helps with her activism. Greta has a deep-rooted sense of justice and doesn’t hesitate to be direct – a trait that is essential for demanding action.
Her openness about her condition inspires others on the autistic spectrum to be more comfortable in their own skin.
Susan Te Kahurangi King
Susan Te Kahurangi King is a non-verbal autistic artist. Being completely nonverbal since she was eight, Susan expresses herself through multiple artistic mediums; forming abstract and beautiful art pieces.
The subjects of her art range from animals, people, abstract shapes, and cell-like structures. Her mesmerising and vibrant landscapes capture your attention and take you to a world you never knew existed.
After a 20-year pause in her work starting in the 1990s, she resumed making art in 2008. From that point on, she has created new landscapes and featured in a documentary. Pictures of Susan is a Dan Salmon documentary from 2012 following Susan’s journey as an artist, and how her family nurtured her skills.
Her skills show viewers of her work the worlds she creates in her mind. All without saying a word.
During her career, her art has been exhibited from her home, New Zealand, to Paris, New York City and Chicago. She has created over 10,000 drawings. Some exhibitions include: her debut museum exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art, (Miami, 2016) and her “In Colour” exhibition at the Robert Heald Gallery, (Wellington, 2019).
Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was six. She suffered from being called “stupid” in school and found reading challenging. But, one of her teachers helped Keira with her creativity by focusing on what she wrote, not how.
“I was lucky to have a teacher who focused on what I was writing, not how I was spelling it. That let me explore my creativity.”, as she once said.
In school, Keira memorized books and “read” through memory. Which is partially why her dyslexia went unnoticed at first.
Her dyslexia is what got Keira into acting in the first place. She used Emma Thomson’s Sense and Sensibility screenplay to learn to read, as per her parents’ challenge for her. In exchange, they hired her an agent and her career began.
She no longer struggles with remembering or reading her lines as she did, and now she is a successful actress. She has starred in famous titles from Pride and Prejudice to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Greta Gerwig
The director of stories about complex female characters, (Ladybird, Little Women 2019 and Barbie) Greta Gerwig has ADHD. Like many women with ADHD, she was not diagnosed until adulthood. As a child she was very energetic and, “just interested in, like, everything.” She felt emotions deeply and intensely and had an active imagination.
Her mum even tried to tire Greta out by signing her up for extra-curricular activities, as she stated in an interview.
Her films are known for their well-rounded coming of age stories. From the March sisters in Little Women to “Ladybird” in the film of the same name. Greta’s creativity and enthusiasm bring her feminist stories to life. Her characters flourish despite misogyny and complicated interpersonal relationships. They show audiences how the world represses women and how women triumph despite this.
Breanna Clark
Hailing from Los Angeles, Clark was diagnosed with autism aged four.
In the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics, she won two gold medals for T20 400m race. The T20 class in the Paralympics is defined as events for athletes with an intellectual disability. She set the world record for this race in the 2020 Olympics at 55.18 seconds. She also has three other gold medals under her belt from the London and Paris World Championships and the 2019 Parapan American Games. All for the T20 400m.
Her persistence and consistent achievements have inspired autistic and black people around the world.
Female representation is essential, and representation of neurodiverse women is even more important. They say you cannot be what you cannot see, and for neurodiverse women to see themselves in the spotlight, we will know that we can do the same.
Happy International Women’s Day. To the neurodiverse, the neurotypical, to everyone.
Featured image: NICKVECTOR, Dribble
First year journalism student. From Aboyne, Aberdeenshire but lived in Doha for eight years.
