What women need to know about ADHD

For almost all of Western medical history, research on the human body and mind has focused on men. Unfortunately, male and female bodies are not identical; though men and women have the same capacity for strength, intelligence, compassion and other important attributes, the truth is that the physical systems that support the male mind and body differ (sometimes subtly and sometimes considerably) from those of the female mind and body. As a result, many of the well-known signs and symptoms of popular disorders and diseases simply do not apply to female sufferers.

Perhaps the best example of this is attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. A disorder once associated with active and distracted little boys, ADHD is becoming more widespread as researchers discover that the disease presents much differently in members of the opposite sex.

How ADHD Presents in Women

ADHD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that is usually first diagnosed in childhood and can persist into adulthood. There are three main presentations of the disorder: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive and combined. Hyperactive-compulsive is perhaps the most well-known presentation, as it involves obvious signs such as an inability to sit still, excessive physical movement, constant fidgeting, an inability to wait or acting without thinking. As it happens, the hyperactive-compulsive presentation is by far the most common presentation seen in young boys and men.

In contrast, many girls and women who experience ADHD manifest the inattentive presentation. Symptoms of this presentation include making careless mistakes, failing to maintain close attention, having difficulty sustaining attention and struggling to follow instructions. Caregivers, educators and even healthcare providers often overlook these signs of ADHD in young girls and women, as they tend to be more subtle and difficult to differentiate as unhealthy behaviours.

Still, the inattentive presentation is not the only form of ADHD experienced by women. Unfortunately, some of the more common signs of the hyperactive-compulsive presentation or the combined presentation are often ignored in young girls, as they are written off as annoying personality quirks. For example, talking excessively and difficulty maintaining a train of thought are often ascribed to very social girls but are in fact symptoms of ADHD.

There are other indications of ADHD in girls and women that caregivers or healthcare providers might want to monitor. For example, depression and anxiety often co-occur with ADHD, so diagnosis of one or both mental disorders might warrant an investigation for ADHD. Girls with ADHD are more likely to struggle to maintain friendships and romantic relationships, and they are likely to have at least one exceedingly messy physical space.

How to Improve Female ADHD Support

The first step to ensuring that women with ADHD receive proper treatment is ensuring that they are properly diagnosed as young girls. As a neurodevelopmental disorder, ADHD left untreated in childhood can affect an individual for the rest of their life; they may develop coping mechanisms that harm their mental, emotional or physical health, or they may fail to acquire the credentials they need for academic and career success. Parents, educators and healthcare providers need to become more adept at recognizing the signs of ADHD in young girls and intervening in ways that will help girls grow into confident and capable women.

While medication management is common for ADHD sufferers, it is not the only method of helping girls and women survive and thrive. From a young age, individuals with ADHD can begin receiving behavioural treatment for ADHD, which can equip girls with better tools and support for functioning effectively in the world. Particularly severe presentations of ADHD may warrant enrolment in special education courses, which should have trained instructors with a Master’s in Special Education to help girls learn necessary knowledge and skills.

More and more women are realizing that they have suffered from untreated ADHD for most of their lives. With more awareness of the different ways girls and women present ADHD symptoms, society can do more to help all ADHD sufferers achieve health and wellness from a young age.

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