It’s The Quiet Compliant Girls We Need To Worry About
In focusing on “challenging behaviors” we overlook neurodivergent girls who are struggling
Even if autism assessment had been a thing when I grew up in the 1970s, it’s unlikely I would have been nudged in the direction of it.
While ADHD assessment was more of a thing, diagnosis in anyone other than a boisterous and highly active boy was unheard of.
It probably wouldn’t have occurred to anyone to assess me for anything because I exhibited very few outward signs that set me apart. My experience of profound difference was an internalised one and I gave little away.
It’s still unmanageable behaviour that prompts parents to seek diagnostic intervention. The more the behaviour is that are at odds with what is considered normal, the greater the concern. And the more the behaviour impacts others in the child’s life, the greater the urgency.
I see a lot of courses aimed at parents of neurodivergent children, usually targeting “aggressive” and “challenging behaviors” or “behaviors of concern.” They’re not about addressing the underlying reasons for the behavior but reducing the outward expression of it.
