‘ADHD affects black women – it’s time our stories were told’-Josie Copson-Entertainment – Metro

Demi Colleen wants to see more representation in ADHD documentaries (Picture: Fordtography)

In the UK around 3-4% of the population have ADHD* (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

Within that number, a study found that 13% of people who are screened as positive over 16 are Black, compared to 10.2% who are White British, while the Asian community makes up 8.9%**.

However, despite the diversity in the people affected, Content Creator and Writer Demi Colleen believes we have limited access to different viewpoints in the public domain.

ITV released the documentary Tanya Bardsley: Me and ADHD last year, and we could tune into Sam Thompson: Is This ADHD? on E4 last night. While an hour-long program called Mise is ADHD can be found on BBC iPlayer fronted by Suzie Roberts. Although there is some diversity in the episodes, Demi has noted that the unique experiences of Black people are not focused on. She is hoping to change that by telling her story.

‘It’s so important for people to be able to have access to stories where people look like them. Black women with ADHD are not talked about enough,’ Demi told Metro.co.uk.

Seeing somebody who looks like you on screen can be transformative, and as well as big-budget movies and addictive TV shows, documentaries can make a difference in people’s lives. Demi believes that representation in these areas could be the key to things changing for the Black community. 

Demi wants to make a documentary (Picture: Fordtography)

Demi herself is in discussions with a few documentary makers and broadcasters but is finding it ‘tricky’ to get commissioned, and is tired of seeing similar stories. 

‘I understand that everybody has a story to tell, but my stance is whether it’s a story that bears repeating. The information that we have on women and minorities is a lot smaller than White men.

‘You have to look at the bigger picture and think “am I adding to the conversation or is it just more like an echo chamber?”‘

Demi even got into a heated debate with Sam Thompson on Twitter earlier this year, but she now concludes that he has taken positive steps forward.

Sam himself told Metro that he wants there to be more diversity in ADHD documentaries. 

Sam made a documentary about ADHD (Credits: Holly Wren / Channel 4)

‘I hope I help someone with my documentary and I’m so glad I got the opportunity but now I’d really like to see someone from a less privileged background take this narrative down a different pathway, which I’m sure E4 is open to doing.

‘I have neurodiversity, but the privilege that I have makes it a lot easier to manage.’

Demi was diagnosed with ADHD at 27 but believes that there were firm indicators of the neurodiversity in her childhood that were ignored. 

NHS describes ADHD as ‘a condition that affects people’s behavior. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating, and may act on impulse.’

She came to the realisation she may have the condition during the pandemic, partly due to informative videos on TikTok describing symptoms such as short attention spans. After securing an appointment with her GP in October 2021, and after a lengthy assessment she was diagnosed in February 2022.

‘My experience would have 100% been different if I was a white man. There’s no doubt,’ Demi stated.

‘At school, I had classmates who were white male, and they were diagnosed with ADHD and they got a lot of special accommodations,’ she reflected. 

‘Some of them were even diagnosed because of things that teachers had said to parents. It is really frustrating to look back on because they were happy to paint me with a brush of being naughty, but for them, it was an automatic, “maybe they have ADHD”.’

Demi isn’t the only person in her family to recently get a diagnosis, her younger sister also has ADHD but it wasn’t easy for her either. 

‘My mom had to fight so hard to get a diagnosis. 

‘She suspected it from quite early and it took a while. It got to a point where they actually thought that my sister’s behavioral issues were down to negligence, which led to issues with social services. 

‘It’s interesting comparing that situation to white families.’

Demi believes her situation would have been treated differently if she was a white man (Picture: Fordtography)

12.9% of men and boys live with ADHD compared to 5.6% of women and girls***, but that doesn’t necessarily mean fewer girls have the condition.

‘Girls and women with ADHD have been shown to be much more likely than boys and men to develop compensatory behaviors that mask ADHD. It may include things like purposefully saying less so they don’t interrupt people, and having difficulty focusing because you’re trying hard to hide excess energy,’ explains Dr Gareth Nye, Senior Lecturer at the University of Chester.

‘Females with ADHD also tend to have more inattentive depression and anxiety-like symptoms and are therefore often misdiagnosed as a child and even more so as an adult.

‘This could be a potential reason why males are more likely than females to receive a diagnosis. 

‘As men are thought of as being more likely to be affected, ADHD is more likely to be in the forefront of a clinician’s mind when dealing with male patients.’

Demi also noticed a similar situation for the Black boys at her school: ‘I believe anybody that has gone to school with diversity knows that young Black boys were never given the grace of whether it could be ADHD or a behavioral condition. They didn’t get a chance. It was suspension instead. 

‘It was so glaringly obvious to me even when I was young how differently they were treated, viewed, and perceived.’

Dr Nye explained that we still can have an incorrect view of people with the condition. 

‘I do believe the label of naughty is still in use today even with the move forward in our understanding.

‘Often, we forget that people have different approaches to situations, or handle activities differently to others. This is particularly true in school, where children are expected to sit still for long periods of time.

‘ADHD is a wide-ranging and unique condition that impacts people on a highly individual basis,’ Dr Nye concludes. 

When Demi did finally get a diagnosis it was a real mixture of emotions: ‘It was relief, happiness, sadness, and grief. 

‘I felt very much like I was mourning for child Demi and thinking about certain situations where I was made to feel a certain way. I was shouted at, and I missed out on opportunities, and this was the reason, which was beyond my control. 

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‘I had to come to terms with it not being picked up by teachers and other people in my life earlier. It was a hard pill to swallow.’

Now she’s ‘incredibly grateful because things worked out well’, but wishes she could tell her young self that ‘it isn’t your fault.’

*National Institute for Health and Care Excellence 

**Gov UK 

***Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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