Date of Award
Summer 8-24-2024
Document Type
Dissertation in Practice
Degree Name
Ed.D.
Organizational Unit
Morgridge College of Education, Teaching and Learning Sciences, Curriculum and Instruction
First Advisor
Norma Lu Hafenstein
Second Advisor
Lindsey Reinert
Third Advisor
Paul Michalec
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Gifted, Lived experiences, Neurodiversity, Self-concept, Twice-exceptionality
Abstract
Given the imbalance in the ratio of male to female ADHD diagnosis, there is a dearth of information on the profile for women with ADHD, especially in adulthood and with those of higher intelligence levels (Rommelse et al., 2016). Each, if not all, diagnoses of ADHD or giftedness come from a parent, teacher, or outside observer’s scale of symptoms and behaviors (Hay et al., 2007; Klesfjo et al., 2020; Polderman et al., 2007). In this study, ten gifted women with ADHD aged 29-77 completed semi structured interviews to examine their lived experiences of education, career, and relationships. Using a dual framework of neurodiversity and self-concept, a narrative storytelling methodology was used to frame each perception of giftedness, ADHD, and intersectionality. Key findings from this study included the humanization of giftedness and ADHD characteristics, a societal mistrust of intuition, a need for stable, low maintenance relationships, and the purpose of masking when defining how individuals construct their personal definition of giftedness and ADHD. New terms were determined to frame the twice-exceptional individual's lived experiences, including neurobordering, neurojuxtaposition, neuromixture, neuro-opposition, and social mistrust of intuition. Implications of this study include a need for more robust vignettes of giftedness and ADHD, understanding twice-exceptional communication needs, therapy and identification protocols, consideration of heritability in diagnosis, and representation in film, literature, and media. Future research consists of an auto narrative of the researcher, demographic variable isolation, widening of inclusion criteria, the impact of adverse life outcomes, intersectional narrative research, and lifetime perspectives.
Copyright Date
8-2024
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Jessica Leigh Williams
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
304 pgs
File Size
2.4 MB
Recommended Citation
Williams, Jessica Leigh, "Raising Their Voices: Lived Experiences of Gifted Women with ADHD" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2450.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2450
Included in
Disability Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Gifted Education Commons, Special Education Administration Commons
