Biggest Myths | Girls and ADHD: It’s only in recent years that ADHD is becoming better understood in girls and women. But we still have a long way to go, according to Terry Matlen, a psychotherapist and coach who specializes in ADHD. She notes that we need to improve how we identify girls with ADHD, evaluate them and administer treatment. In fact, the biggest myths about ADHD and girls is that girls don’t have the disorder in the first place. However, ADHD affects both girls and boys at roughly the same rate.
Girls, however, are harder to spot because they internalize their symptoms and usually don’t exhibit behavioral problems at school. Girls “are more likely to daydream; staring out the window, twisting their hair.” Others may see them as airheads, label them as lazy or a poor student who is not trying hard enough. Parents may hear, ‘If she would only try harder. She has the ability [but] she just chooses not to use it.” ADHD has nothing to do with laziness or lack of effort. Quite the opposite, “these girls are bright students who are simply struggling with distractions by their rich, inner lives.”
“Girls with ADHD are generally do not receive diagnosis until much later if they are smart, if they have structure and support from family [and] if they are inattentive,” according to Sari Solden, LMFT, a psychotherapist and author of Women with Attention Deficit Disorder and Journeys Through ADDulthood.
In fact, diagnosis may not occur until college or when they start working or have a family. This is because these girls try to overcompensate by overworking. READ MORE