Why is ADHD ignored in girls?

Multiple factors may contribute to the lack of ADHD diagnosis in girls during childhood, including differences in predominant symptoms (internalizing rather than externalizing) and subtype (inattentive rather than hyperactive)⁷; the presence of comorbid psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety,^8,9 which ...

Why is ADHD overlooked in girls?

Girls are also less likely to be diagnosed earlier because they often display more symptoms of anxiety. Medical providers may only treat a female patient's anxiety or depression without evaluating for ADHD. Hormones, which affect the symptoms of both ADHD and anxiety, can complicate things.

Is ADHD less obvious in girls?

Even girls who are hyperactive or impulsive have less obvious symptoms than boys. Because symptoms of ADHD are hard to spot in girls, the disorder often goes unnoticed. Instead of a diagnosis, girls with ADHD often get criticism from parents, teachers and peers.

Why do girls mask ADHD?

Some people try masking attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to avoid the social stigma that its symptoms can cause. They might not want people to know about their condition. Other people mask ADHD that is undiagnosed. They may not be aware of its presence and might mask their symptoms to cope.

Why is ADHD less common in girls than boys?

That's because ADHD can manifest differently in boys than in girls. Boys tend to have impulsive, hyperactive, and externalized traits. Girls tend to have inattentive, internalized traits. Because of these factors, girls are generally diagnosed at older ages than boys, often in adulthood.

Trudie Styler on Why Girls with ADHD Are Ignored

How is ADHD different in girls?

Females with ADHD are reported to have fewer hyperactive/impulsive symptoms and more inattentive symptoms when compared with males with ADHD [3,8,9].

Can ADHD mask high IQ?

While ADHD may mask a child's academic abilities, the opposite may be true as well. Very bright children may hide symptoms of ADHD. They generally do better in school than those children with average or low IQ who also struggle with ADHD.

Are girls with ADHD more emotional?

While girls generally mature faster than boys, girls with ADHD experience significant lags in social and emotional maturity compared to non-ADHD peers. Many girls with ADHD tend to be hyper-talkative, hyper-social, and hyper-emotional, rather than hyperactive.

What does ADHD in females look like?

Women with ADHD face the same feelings of being overwhelmed and exhausted as men with ADHD commonly feel. Psychological distress, feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, and chronic stress are common. Often, women with ADHD feel that their lives are out of control or in chaos, and daily tasks may seem impossibly huge.

Is ADHD worse in girls than boys?

Further, research from 2020 corroborates that females are more likely to be inattentive, while males are more likely to have combined symptoms with higher rates of impulsivity and hyperactivity. Read more about the early signs of ADHD.

How rare is ADHD in girls?

Millions of US children have been diagnosed with ADHD

Boys (13%) are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls (6%).

How is ADHD treated in girls?

Standard treatments for ADHD in children include medications, behavior therapy, counseling and education services. These treatments can relieve many of the symptoms of ADHD , but they don't cure it. It may take some time to determine what works best for your child.

What are ADHD struggles in girls?

Girls with ADHD have difficulty with attention, memory, organization and planning. They struggle with school but tend to do extra work behind the scenes to keep up with their peers. This means that many young girls with ADHD fly under the radar and are unnoticed for their struggles.

Do girls with ADHD get angry?

Problems with emotional dysregulation, in particular with anger reactivity, are very common in people with ADHD. You are not alone in struggling in this area. Anger may indicate an associated mood problem but often is just part of the ADHD.

Does a person with ADHD think faster?

Executive functions have other roles which affect how someone thinks. In people with ADHD, these executive dysfunctions impact thinking in numerous ways. People with ADHD don't really think faster than people without it, but it can sometimes seem like they do.

Can a genius have ADHD?

However, there is no clear link between ADHD and IQ. A person may have a high, average, or low IQ score and also have ADHD. ADHD may cause a person to interrupt in class or perform poorly on tests. This can cause other people to believe that they may have a lower IQ.

What are ADHD people good at?

These may include hyperfocus, resilience, creativity, conversational skills, spontaneity, and abundant energy. Many people view these benefits as “superpowers” because those with ADHD can hone them to their advantage.

At what age does ADHD peak?

The symptoms may peak in severity when the child is seven to eight years of age, after which they often begin to decline. By the adolescent years, the hyperactive symptoms may be less noticeable, although ADHD can continue to be present.

Can introverts have ADHD?

Can you be introverted and have ADHD? Absolutely. People with ADHD have a diverse range of presentations and personality traits. This 2017 study of children with ADHD found that 58% of participants were introverted.

Why is ADHD so popular?

Social media has also propelled ADHD into popular awareness, as it has taken over platforms like TikTok and Twitter. As of May 2022, the hashtag #adhd has 11.4 billion views on TikTok. Many people credit these platforms with helping them realize they had the diagnosis and subsequently seeking treatment for it.

Is ADHD a big deal?

Research has shown that, if left untreated, ADHD can destroy a person's mental and physical health for decades before they even know they have it. The thing is, though, people who have it do know something's up.

Why are so many kids getting ADHD?

Instead, the rapid increase in people with A.D.H.D. probably has more to do with sociological factors — changes in the way we school our children, in the way we interact with doctors and in what we expect from our kids. Which is not to say that A.D.H.D. is a made-up disorder.

Do girls mask ADHD?

Because hyperactive and impulsive behaviours are more disruptive in the classroom, teachers are more likely to notice boys as a problem and refer them for attention challenges. Lastly, symptoms of ADHD in girls are sometimes masked because they work hard to meet adult expectations.

How to date a girl who has ADHD?