| ADHD in Girls - Redefining Common Perception |
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Early detection is a key factor in helping young people with ADHD manage the symptoms. Undiagnosed ADHD also means that there are no conscious effort towards focused intervention. Adults who have undiagnosed (and unadressed) ADHD often find themselves battling a lot of issues like depression, inability to form friendships or satisfying relationships, anxiety, and other secondary behavioral issues. Unfortunately, girls with inattentive subtype ADHD are often overlooked and are not given the right kind of diagnosis and appropriate intervention. Why ADHD girls often fade in the background Studies show that women are as likely as men to have ADD, and even more concerning is that women seem to be more emotionally affected by the symptoms negatively than men. Women with ADD/ADHD are often more likely to be diagnosed with other psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety. However, there's still a common perception that ADD/ADHD is a male disorder. It doesn't help that young girls and women who develop other emotionally-based psychiatric issues seek help for the other more prominent symptoms and symptoms of ADD/ADHD just slide by unnoticed. Perhaps the roots of undiagnosed or underdiagnosed ADHD stems from the fact that young girls who find themselves battling with the suspicion that there's something not normal about them are more driven to cover up the symptoms. They're more vocal about needing help and working harder to compensate for their inadequacies. For examples, girls with ADHD who find their grades are more likely to struggle by working longer hours on their homework and asking for tutoring than boys. Girls are also more likely to be "people pleasers" and do everything they can to fit in and try to control their symptoms by themselves. Girls tend to do everything they can to not appear anything other than normal. In fact, one of the ADHD in girls symptoms is compulsive perfectionism. If you assume, for example, that an ADHD boy and girl were given the same school project with the same deadline. Most probably, both will forget about the assignment until the last minute. The main difference is that the girl would probably exert more effort to finish the project, even if she needs to sleep late for it. The boy would probably just dismiss it and forget all about the project altogether. Young girls who have ADHD are typically able to skate by unnoticed during grades K through 6. It's not uncommon for girls with ADHD to start showing the symptoms more clearly during their high school and college years because the attentional requirements are greater for students as they progress to higher academic levels. It's not uncommon for girls with ADHD to often just be dismissed as inattentive daydreamers. The problem is that ADD/ADHD persists into adulthood, and it can get worse as the years go by and the disorder remains undiagnosed. ADHD and Girls - Recognizing the Signs The signs of ADHD in girls are usually not too different from boys, they're just a lot more subtle and easy to miss. Here are a few of them:
It's better late than never Even if girls are diagnosed late in their life with ADHD, it's never too late to get treatment. Oftentimes, taking the necessary medication can produce immediate positive effects. More so if changes in lifestyle and diet are also done. In fact, studies show that girls and women are often very relieved to finally be able to put a name on what has been plaguing them since they were young. Learning that it's ADHD and learning that it's treatable, even if it's not curable, is a big relief for most people who have had to live with the symptoms all their life.
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