ADD & ADHD Health Center
Yes, Girls Get ADHD, Too
Neil Peterson, a transportation specialist in Seattle, knew something was "not quite right" with his bright, sociable daughter Kelsey when she was in elementary school. "It took her so long to learn to read," Peterson says. "She was not hyperactive, but she had tremendous distractibility and an inability to follow through and stay with something." Kelsey's teachers told Peterson not to worry, and he listened.
On the surface, Kelsey was no different from other kids her age -- all young students, at one point or another, can become easily bored or distracted, flit from one thing to the next, and forget their homework. But if these behaviors are persistent, they might be a sign of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurobehavioral condition that affects 3% to 7% of all school-age children, or about one to three kids in every classroom.
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Sometimes girls like Kelsey are missed. Though boys are diagnosed at about three times the rate of girls, that doesn't necessarily mean the disorder is more common in boys, says ADHD expert Harlan Gephart, MD, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. Rather, asks Gephart, "Is it just not as recognized in girls?"
ADHD Symptoms in Girls
The short answer is yes, according to researchers. One national study found that the majority of parents and teachers perceived ADHD to be more common in boys, who they believed had more behavior problems. Almost half of teachers also had difficulty recognizing the signs of ADHD in girls.
And a recent Australian study found that even when parents and teachers acknowledged the disorder in girls, they were less likely to recommend getting extra assistance in the classroom because they believed it wouldn't help them as much as it would boys.
"The big problem with ADHD in girls is that it presents itself differently," says Gephart. "Boys are just more obvious." Of the three traits that define ADHD -- hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and inattentiveness -- the first two are thought to be more descriptive of boys and the last of girls, though there's certainly crossover, says Gephart.
"Boys who are hyperactive tend to be recognized very early, by kindergarten or first grade," says Gephart, typically because of behavior issues. Girls, who predominantly have the inattentive form of the disorder, often show more subtle symptoms: dreaminess, forgetfulness, or messiness. Often, an ADHD diagnosis isn't made until middle or high school or even later, when a girl is having trouble completing her homework.
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