Why Are More Women Being Diagnosed as Neurodivergent? What the Research Tells Us

Over the past decade, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of women and girls being diagnosed with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and ADHD.

You may have noticed this yourself. Perhaps you have a friend, colleague, partner or family member who has received a diagnosis in adulthood. Perhaps you have found yourself wondering whether some of your own lifelong experiences might make more sense through a neurodivergent lens.

But what is actually happening?

Are more women becoming neurodivergent, or are we simply getting better at recognising neurodivergence in people who have historically been overlooked?

The research suggests that the second explanation is an important part of the picture.

The number of women receiving diagnoses really is increasing

This isn’t simply an impression created by social media or increased public discussion.

Research has documented substantial increases in recorded autism diagnoses over time, with particularly notable increases among females.

A 2024 study by Harrop and colleagues examined 20 years of autism diagnostic data from autism centres across North Carolina, covering more than 10,000 people diagnosed between 2000 and 2021.

The researchers found that the rate at which females were diagnosed with autism increased more rapidly than the rate for males. The male-to-female ratio among those receiving an autism diagnosis fell from 5.64:1 to 3.07:1 over the study period.

Importantly, however, females continued to be diagnosed later than males. The researchers suggested that the increasing proportion of female diagnoses may partly reflect greater awareness of the ways autism can present in females. (PubMed)

This isn’t an isolated finding.

A UK population-based study examining autism diagnoses over a 20-year period found a very large increase in recorded autism diagnoses between 1998 and 2018. The increase was greater among females than males and was particularly marked among adults.

The researchers concluded that increased recognition and application of diagnosis were likely to explain a substantial proportion of the increase, rather than assuming that the underlying prevalence of autism had suddenly increased. (PubMed)

More recent evidence continues to show this pattern.

The UK government’s independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism reports that primary-care data show rising numbers of autism diagnoses, with particularly rapid growth among females and young people without intellectual disability.

At the same time, estimates from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey suggest that the overall prevalence of autism in adults has remained broadly stable across the available survey years.

In other words, diagnosis rates are increasing much more dramatically than population prevalence estimates. (GOV.UK)

That distinction is really important.

Diagnosis isn’t the same as prevalence

When we hear that diagnoses have increased, it’s tempting to assume that the condition itself must therefore be becoming more common.

But there are several different things that can happen.

The underlying prevalence of a neurodevelopmental condition might change.

Or more people who have always been neurodivergent might be recognised and diagnosed.

Or diagnostic criteria and clinical practice might change.

Or awareness might increase, meaning that people who would previously never have considered autism or ADHD are now seeking assessment.

Often, several of these things may be happening at the same time.

This is why researchers are cautious about interpreting rising diagnosis rates as proof that autism or ADHD is becoming more prevalent.

The evidence is particularly interesting when we look at who is increasingly receiving diagnoses.

Why women and girls have historically been missed

For many years, autism and ADHD were understood largely through research involving boys and men.

That matters because the behaviours that tend to attract attention in children are not necessarily the same behaviours that occur in every autistic or ADHD person.

A child who is visibly hyperactive, disruptive or struggling academically may be more readily identified as potentially having ADHD than a child who is quiet, daydreamy, overwhelmed or working extremely hard to compensate.

Similarly, an autistic child whose differences are obvious to adults may be identified earlier than someone who has learned to carefully observe other people and adapt their behaviour.

This doesn’t mean that all autistic women or girls mask, or that autism looks one particular way in females.

It does mean that gendered expectations can influence whether neurodivergent characteristics are noticed, interpreted and referred for assessment.

Research into ADHD has found similar patterns.

A 2024 review by Cardiff University’s Joanna Martin examined why females are less likely than males to receive an ADHD diagnosis during childhood.

The review identified a number of possible contributing factors, including differences in presentation, compensatory behaviours, diagnostic practices, diagnostic overshadowing and sociocultural expectations. Females also tend to receive ADHD diagnoses later than males. (PubMed)

Sometimes the problem isn’t that the signs weren’t there

One of the most interesting things about later diagnosis is that receiving a diagnosis in adulthood doesn’t necessarily mean that someone has suddenly developed the condition.

Neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and ADHD are lifelong. What can change is whether somebody — or the people around them — has the framework to understand what they are experiencing.

A woman may have spent years thinking:

● Why can everyone else manage this but I can’t?

● Why am I exhausted after socialising?

● Why do I need so much recovery time?

● Why can I focus intensely on something I’m interested in but struggle enormously with everyday tasks?

● Why do I seem capable on the outside while everything feels chaotic internally?

● Why do certain sounds, textures or environments affect me so strongly?

● Why have I spent so much of my life feeling like I’m somehow doing things “wrong”?

Those questions don’t automatically mean someone is autistic or has ADHD.

But for some people, discovering neurodivergence provides a framework that brings together experiences that previously seemed unrelated.

Women with ADHD may receive other diagnoses first

There is particularly interesting evidence around ADHD and women’s mental health.

A large study using healthcare records from Wales looked at more than 16,000 people diagnosed with ADHD.

Only around one in five of those diagnosed were female, and the male-to-female ratio was much smaller among people diagnosed in adulthood than among those diagnosed during childhood.

The researchers also found that females were more likely than males to have received diagnoses of anxiety, depression or another mental health condition — and antidepressant treatment — before their ADHD diagnosis.

The authors suggested that this could indicate diagnostic overshadowing or initial misdiagnosis contributing to later recognition of ADHD in females. (PubMed)

This is an important finding because it helps explain why some women arrive at an ADHD assessment after years of being treated for anxiety, depression or other difficulties.

Those difficulties aren’t necessarily unrelated to ADHD. Living for years without appropriate understanding or support can itself be exhausting and distressing.

But it also means that the ADHD may have remained hidden beneath other explanations.

And we’re seeing this pattern beyond childhood

One particularly interesting development in recent research is the growing recognition of autistic and ADHD adults.

The old stereotype of neurodevelopmental conditions as something identified almost exclusively in childhood is increasingly difficult to reconcile with the data.

The 2024 autism research by Harrop and colleagues found that later diagnosis was particularly associated with females, while the UK research found some of the greatest increases in autism diagnosis among adults. (PubMed)

A 2026 Scottish study examining referrals and diagnoses across autism, ADHD and intellectual disability also found important differences by age and sex.

Among autistic people in the study, the male-to-female ratio was much higher in children under 10, but females outnumbered males in adolescence and adulthood. Across the diagnoses studied, females were referred and diagnosed later overall. (PubMed)

This doesn’t mean that autism suddenly becomes more common in women as they get older.

It may instead tell us something about when people are being recognised.

Why might someone be recognised later in life?

There isn’t one explanation.

For some people, childhood may have provided enough structure and support to compensate for difficulties.

For others, they may have developed sophisticated strategies for managing situations that don’t come naturally.

Some people may not experience significant difficulties until the demands placed upon them increase.

Starting secondary school, university, employment, parenthood or other major life changes can remove some of the structures that previously helped someone cope.

And sometimes the explanation comes much later simply because nobody had previously considered neurodivergence.

There is also an interesting possibility that women themselves are becoming better at recognising their own experiences.

As research and public understanding have changed, the picture of what autism or ADHD can look like has become broader.

Someone who didn’t identify with the stereotypical image of an autistic child may nevertheless recognise themselves in contemporary descriptions of autistic experience.

That can be the beginning of asking questions that were never asked during childhood.

What about masking and camouflaging?

Masking and camouflaging have become increasingly discussed when talking about autism, particularly in relation to women.

These terms broadly describe efforts to hide, suppress or compensate for autistic characteristics in order to fit social expectations.

This might include consciously studying how other people behave, rehearsing conversations, copying social behaviours, suppressing stimming or forcing eye contact.

Not every autistic person masks, and masking isn’t exclusive to women.

But if someone has become very good at appearing as though everything is fine, the difficulties underneath may be considerably harder for other people to see.

That can create a particularly confusing situation:

If you look like you’re coping, people may assume you are coping.

And sometimes the person themselves has spent so long compensating that they don’t realise how much effort it is taking.

So are more women actually neurodivergent?

The honest answer is: we don’t yet have a simple answer.

What the evidence clearly shows is that more women and girls are being diagnosed with autism and ADHD than in previous decades, and that the increase in identification has been particularly noticeable among females.

What the evidence does not allow us to conclude is that women are suddenly becoming neurodivergent at a dramatically higher rate.

For autism, population survey estimates and diagnostic data are telling us slightly different things. Recorded diagnoses have increased substantially, while estimates of adult population prevalence have been comparatively stable.

That suggests that changes in recognition, referral and diagnosis are likely to account for at least part of the increase. (GOV.UK)

And that may actually be the more interesting story.

Rather than asking, “Why are so many women suddenly autistic or ADHD?”

Perhaps we should also be asking:

“How many women were always neurodivergent but simply weren’t recognised?”

What this means for women questioning their own experiences

Increasing awareness can be a positive thing.

For someone who has spent years feeling different, exhausted or as though they are constantly failing to meet expectations, discovering that there may be a neurodevelopmental explanation can be profoundly validating.

But it’s also worth approaching the subject thoughtfully.

Recognising yourself in descriptions of autism or ADHD doesn’t automatically mean that you have a diagnosis.

Many experiences associated with neurodivergence can also occur for other reasons, including trauma, anxiety, depression, chronic stress, sleep difficulties and other physical or psychological conditions.

A proper assessment considers the wider picture, including developmental history and the ways difficulties have affected someone’s life over time.

And a diagnosis isn’t the only route to greater self-understanding.

Sometimes learning about neurodiversity can help someone reconsider the expectations they’ve placed upon themselves, identify environments that are more supportive, and develop kinder ways of understanding their own needs.

Perhaps we’re not seeing a sudden rise in neurodivergent women

Perhaps we’re seeing something a little more complicated — and much more hopeful.

We’re seeing research that increasingly recognises that autism and ADHD don’t have one single presentation.

We’re seeing more awareness of women and girls.

We’re seeing adults asking questions that may never have been asked when they were children.

And we’re beginning to understand how easily someone can become very good at looking as though they’re coping while expending enormous amounts of energy to do so.

There is still a great deal we don’t know.

But the growing number of women receiving diagnoses is prompting an important question for healthcare, education and society more broadly:

What happens when we stop looking for neurodivergence only in the people who fit the stereotype?

For some women, being recognised later in life doesn’t mean their neurodivergence is new.

It means someone has finally had the opportunity to understand it.

If you’re questioning whether you might be neurodivergent

If you’re beginning to wonder whether autism, ADHD or another form of neurodivergence might help explain some of your experiences, you don’t have to work everything out at once.

Therapy can provide a space to explore your experiences, identity and relationships without assuming that you need to fit a particular diagnostic label.

As a neuro-affirming therapist, I offer a warm and non-judgemental space for adults who are exploring their neurodivergence, including people who are considering or have received a later-life diagnosis.

If you’d like to talk about what’s been going on for you, you can book in with me to arrange a consultation.

Research and further reading

● Harrop, C., Tomaszewski, B., Putnam, O., Klein, C., Lamarche, E. & Klinger, L. (2024). Are the diagnostic rates of autistic females increasing? An examination of state-wide trends. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 65(7), 973–983. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13939. (PubMed)

● Russell, G. et al. (2022). Time trends in autism diagnosis over 20 years: a UK population-based cohort study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. (PubMed)

● Martin, J. (2024). Why are females less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD in childhood than males? The Lancet Psychiatry, 11(4), 303–310. (PubMed)

● Smith, D. et al. (2024). Sex differences in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis and clinical care: a national study of population healthcare records in Wales. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. (PubMed)

● Maciver, D. et al. (2026). Are we getting better at identifying and diagnosing neurodivergent girls and women? Insights into sex ratios and age of diagnosis from clinical population data in Scotland. Autism. (PubMed)

● UK Government. Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism: interim report. (GOV.UK)

This article is intended for general information and is not a substitute for an individual clinical assessment or medical advice.