Boys are diagnosed with ADHD significantly more than girls, even though girls are just as likely to have ADHD. This means that girls are less likely to receive effective treatments and therapeutic services than boys. Female misdiagnosis often occurs due to ADHD commonly being considered a “male diagnosis,” geared towards boys. This mindset allows more boys to be identified as inattentive or hyperactive and evaluated for a diagnosis.
One of the reasons for this disparity is because symptoms present differently in girls often making ADHD more difficult to identify. Symptoms in girls with ADHD may include:
- Picking at their nails
- Twirling or picking at their hair
- Staring out the window instead of listening/paying attention
- Anxiety/Depression
- Difficulty with friendships
- Talking all the time
- Perfectionism
- Forgetfulness and poor attention to detail
Another aspect that makes it more difficult for girls to be diagnosed is because they approach school differently than boys. While both boys and girls with ADHD struggle with forgetfulness and procrastination, boys are more likely to leave work incomplete, whereas girls are more likely to do work at the last minute and dwell on perfecting it. Elementary school also places lower demands on students, so some girls with ADHD may not struggle as much until they get older. As expectations in school grow, many girls with ADHD begin to unravel, leading to increased difficulties that had not been spotted before.
While both boys and girls with ADHD often struggle with friendships, girl friendships tend to be more complex, meaning that they require more work and social awareness. Hyperactivity in females can show as a tendency to talk non-stop or blurt things out when they shouldn’t. Girls with ADHD also tend to struggle to remember important personal details, such as birthdays or favorite colors. When females with ADHD struggle with their hyperactivity or inattentiveness, it can lead to them being excluded, which may lead to social isolation and decreased self-esteem and confidence.
Girls are often better than boys at masking their symptoms, which is another reason they often go undiagnosed. And as girls grow older and symptoms go untreated and unmanaged, often symptoms grow to look like anxiety or depression, again leading to continual misdiagnosis. In turn, this often leads to decreased self-esteem. Girls are in a constant state of comparison and are aware of how much harder they have to work to compensate for their symptoms and to do the day-to-day things that individuals without ADHD seem to manage so easily.
If you recognize these symptoms in your daughter, getting an ADHD evaluation is the best step to understand if your daughter is truly experiencing ADHD.