Description of Work

Understanding ADHD: It's Different for Girls - 2022 - Animated Video, Screen print, Yarn - Not For Sale

Artist's Statement

My thesis was inspired by the struggles and experiences in my personal life. Not knowing what was going on at the time, my education, health, social, and personal life suffered greatly and I was unable to focus on what was important at the time. I realized how much I was struggling within my personal life and was able to focus on the questined, what is holding me captive? The overwhelming amount of stress and anxiety that controlled my life eventually became too much and for the first time, I knew I needed to seek help regarding  my mental health.

After extensive testing and conversations with various medical professionals, I was diagnosed with ADHD and put on medication to help with the everyday changes that were to come with this medical diagnosis. Why couldn't I connect to my topic that I knew was important and deserved advocacy? This experience not only gave me the answers I was asking regarding my thesis, but changed my life entirely and led me to alter my course of action with my thesis.

While researching, I had an epiphany that this was extremely common among girls and the experiences were ones that I related to on a very personal level. Children grow up within a system that provides the structure of a traditional “productive” day. They are taught to control schedules put into place for today’s current school and work schedules. Children ages 4-18 wake up and go to school from roughly 7:30 am to 4 pm - that does not include any extra curricular activities! For me, I was able to mask the emotions and struggles that I had, despite showing clear signs of ADHD even as a young girl.

Once I started to create my own structure as an adult, that is when things really changed for me. I was 21 when I was able to finally get answers. But why was it so hard? Why did I have to prove that I was struggling in order for someone to believe me? Throughout my life I was told that I was over-emotional, sensitive, distracted, talkative, and just had a creative and wild imagination. When in reality, I was filled with anxiety about how and why I felt like I never belonged. I didn’t have the “traditional” signs of ADHD, meaning I wasn’t unable to sit still or follow directions. Because I was able to be obedient and I received good grades, nobody was really looking any deeper into the struggles that I was experiencing. Why did nobody notice? Because oftentimes ADHD presents itself differently in girls - it’s different for girls.

My thesis creates a visual experience for the viewer through the eyes of someone with ADHD in order to gain empathy for girls who are experiencing these changes in their lives. The background wall art combined with the overwhelming visuals of video make you experience the confusion and frustration with simple tasks that can make life extremely difficult for someone with ADHD.

If you wish to purchase any of these pieces, please contact the gallery director, Jacqueline Nathan (jnathan@bgsu.edu.)