As a result of outdated criteria, females with ADHD often go either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Receiving an initial misdiagnosis of this sort is quite common since both anxiety and depression are commonly comorbid with ADHD in females. In fact, depression is the most common prior diagnosis for females with ADHD.
Girls with ADHD often go undiagnosed until adulthood, while boys with ADHD are often prescribed stimulant medications earlier than girls, researchers have found. The gender gap in diagnosis and treatment frequently leaves girls and women floundering.
Sleep apnea is a common culprit that's often misdiagnosed as ADHD — and vice versa. Fortunately, researchers are devising simple tests to definitively diagnose and get kids the treatment they need. [Take This Self-Test: Could I Have ADHD?]
The only way to know for sure is to see a doctor. That's because the disorder has a number of possible symptoms, and they can easily be confused with those of other conditions, like depression or anxiety. Not sure whether you should get checked by a doc? If many of these apply, you may need to get checked out.
Girls Tend Towards Introspection Rather Than Hyperactivity
Inattentive ADHD involves a lot of daydreaming, inability to focus, forgetfulness, and having trouble staying organized. Because that doesn't look like 'typical' ADHD — and can be mistaken for simple scatterbrained-ness — it's often not diagnosed as such.
If you hide your adult ADHD symptoms from other people, that's called masking. Basically, you're trying to seem more “normal” or “regular.” ADHD causes some people to act hyperactive or impulsive. It makes other folks have trouble paying attention. And still other adults have a combination of those symptoms.
Girls with ADHD may want to move and talk, but don't want to be seen to be misbehaving, so they keep it in. They may fidget in smaller, less recognisable ways, such as doodling or playing with jewellery, or may be overly chatty when allowed to talk.
Most women with ADHD get an accurate diagnosis in their late 30s or early 40s. Experts say there could be several reasons behind the late diagnosis. It could be that parents, teachers, or pediatricians miss ADHD symptoms and behaviors in young girls because they aren't obvious.
With ADHD children, we use "The 30% Rule" to set realistic expectations. The 30% Rule goes like this. Take the age of your ADHD child and subtract 30% from it. If your son is 12, for example, subtracting 30% of 12 (3.6 years) from 12 gives you 8.4.
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 ...
Patricia Quinn, one of the great gurus of women with ADHD, writes that girls tend to be less disruptive than boys, manifesting their lack of attention in subtler ways — disorganization, distraction, and difficulty following directions. Even more hyperactive girls are less likely to be noticed.
“Tomboys” with ADHD
Hyperactive girls are often “tomboys.” They are physically active, drawn to more risk-taking activities such as tree climbing, exploring and playing with their brothers or other boys in the neighborhood.
The signs of ADHD in girls are more likely to look like inattention than hyperactivity. Girls with ADHD often don't fit the stereotype of excessive energy. Instead, they have a hard time paying attention, staying organized, and managing their time. People might mistake girls with ADHD for just being spacey or lazy.
Typically, girls are more likely to have the inattentive form and less likely to show disruptive symptoms. These symptoms often make an ADHD diagnosis more obvious. The following symptoms are particularly likely to affect girls: Inattention: People with ADHD may find it hard to concentrate.
With girls, inattentive ADHD is the most common.
Many people with ADHD experience daytime sleepiness and difficulty waking up as a result of poor sleep. Others experience restless, non-refreshing sleep with multiple nighttime awakenings.
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.
Create. Compete. Complete. CAPTIVATE Find things that captivate your attention.
The Five-Second Rule tells you to start right away. The simple science behind this is that the less time you give your brain to overthink the action you're going to do, the more likely you're going to do it.
Millions of US children have been diagnosed with ADHD
Boys (13%) are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls (6%).
You can inherit genes that boost risk for ADHD from your mother, from your father or from both parents. In a recent Norwegian study, inherited risk was somewhat higher when a child's mother had ADHD compared to their father, but researchers weren't certain why that would be.
Untreated ADHD in adults can lead to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. This is because ADHD symptoms can lead to focus, concentration, and impulsivity problems. When these problems are not managed effectively, they can lead to feelings of frustration, irritability, and low self-esteem.