Many girls that have come into my office have had their ADHD symptoms overlooked. While they are not that hyper boy who is bouncing off the walls, drumming on his desk, and blurting out answers, which is the stereotypical image of ADHD that many of us think of, they do have real inattentive and executive functioning deficits that are having a huge impact on their life at school, home, and socially.
Girls are just as likely as boys to have ADHD. YET, boys are 3x more likely to be diagnosed than girls. Symptoms of ADHD often present differently in girls than in boys, and societal pressures often create different coping mechanisms to surface which may further mask symptoms. These coping mechanisms often further exasperate struggles and may lead to additional issues; such as mood disorders, low self-esteem, or substance abuse.
I have worked with numerous girls who have felt like they are "bad," or that there was something wrong with them, due to the manifestation of their brain structures working differently. This is why I loved when I came across this article in ADDitude Mag: https://www.additudemag.com/slideshows/adhd-in-girls-women/?src=embed_link . The article does a great job highlighting the struggles a girl with ADHD may face compared to her male counterpart.
ADDitude magazine is an awesome online resource for parents, teachers, and professionals with up to date research, and a plethora of helpful articles, webinars, skills, and resources. A great place for us all to get more education so we can become more adept at recognizing symptoms of ADHD across genders.