Each week we will be sharing a tip from our school psychologist, Mrs. Rollins.

This week we are talking about – Girls and ADHD

Girls and ADHD

I’ve recently noticed a trend of women my age being diagnosed later in life with ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In this tip, I want to talk about some of the reasons for this trend and what we can do to notice and support our girls today.

First of all, there are 3 subtypes of ADHD: hyperactive type, inattentive type, or combined type. Children with this diagnosis can have movement needs, sensory needs, and executive functioning difficulties that affect them to the point of interfering with daily activities and relationships.

We typically think of ADHD as hyperactive boys who can’t sit still and are extremely impulsive. While correct, ADHD can also look like a child who forgets things even when they are important to them, is easily distracted by items in a room, is extremely talkative, or can focus for a long time on something while neglecting other things they wanted to do.

For many years after ADHD was initially being diagnosed and treated, it was thought that it did not occur in girls at all, but we know now that this is not true, it just often looks different. Girls are often socialized to act pleasant, not prioritize their needs or handle stress quietly. So they learn to mask their symptoms.

Women are more commonly diagnosed with anxiety and depression, so instead of being diagnosed with ADHD, many girls were diagnosed with the resulting symptoms of feeling less capable than their peers of completing everyday tasks or not living up to expectations based on their intelligence or creativity.

Stephen Hinshaw, an ADHD expert at UC Berkeley believes that the word deficit in ADHD is a misnomer and that the real problem is that the person with ADHD struggles with making good decisions about how and when to pay attention.

So then, how do help our children with ADHD? While there is no one cure, Dr. Hinshaw suggests, “If you want to increase your focus and decrease your impulsivity, about 80% of people with ADHD respond to medication. But if you want to develop better interpersonal relationships, better academic and vocational skills, it takes a combination of the medication and cognitive behavioral and family therapies.” Some may not respond to medication or do not wish to take medication. There are studies that indicate that diet, regular exercise, therapy and a number of executive functioning coping mechanisms can also result in helping people with ADHD regulate their symptoms.

According to Dr. Hinshaw, what all of us can do to raise or support our loved ones with ADHD, especially our girls, is: forgiveness, acceptance and support.

For further reading:

Harper Bazaar Article

Utah Parent Center

Some books you could look for would be

Smart But Scattered, by Peg Dawson Straight Talk about ADHD in Girls: How to Help Your Daughter Thrive, by Stephen P. Hinshaw

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