Systemic barriers in neurodivergent representation: How art reveals ADHD’s structural invisibility and medical framing
Original framing: “Thought-provoking photographs capture what it feels like to have ADHD” — New Scientist
Marginalised groups—particularly Black, Indigenous, and low-income individuals—face systemic barriers in ADHD diagnosis and support, often misdiagnosed with behavioural disorders or denied access to stimulants due to racial bias in medical training. Women and nonbinary people with ADHD are frequently dismissed as 'hysterical' or 'lazy,' delaying intervention until adulthood, when comorbidities like anxiety or depression have compounded. The 'ADHD industrial complex' profits from overmedication of privileged groups while under-serving those most in need, revealing how capitalism exploits both neurodivergent and marginalised bodies.
The artist’s work, while a poignant critique of medicalisation, inadvertently reinforces the very system it seeks to expose by framing ADHD as a personal experience rather than a structural mismatch.
The Polaroid images—warped by medication—mirror how society 'develops' neurodivergent individuals: through chemical and social processing that distorts their essence into something 'manageable.' This reflects a broader paradox where capitalism commodifies difference (e.g., pharmaceutical profits) while demanding conformity, a dynamic rooted in colonial-era labour norms and eugenicist pseudoscience. The solution lies not in better representation, but in dismantling the systems that define 'normalcy'—through decolonised education, neuro-inclusive workplaces, and community-led care that centres marginalised voices. The trickster here is the neurodivergent individual themselves: a disruptive force that exposes the absurdity of a world built for a single cognitive template, demanding we confront the illusion of control that underpins our institutions.