2:54pm October 4, 2014

➸ It's Different for Girls with ADHD

queenshulamit:

clatterbane:

heychief:

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder does not look the same in boys and girls. Women with the disorder tend to be less hyperactive and impulsive, more disorganized, scattered, forgetful, and introverted. The misunderstanding stem from the early studies of the disorder which, a research says, “were based on really hyperactive young white boys.”

was talking about this article with saskia. also worth a read. people so frequently misunderstand adhd and also misunderstand what a role and impact it can have in your life, especially as someone who was diagnosed as an adult.

I would add, though, that while expectations of behavior do seem to affect common presentations, there isn’t anything like a clean split there. Inattentive type in general is often less obvious, but it’s not limited to girls. I came close enough to the classic hyperactive picture to get diagnosed in the ’70s. My behavior was not really considered a problem until I got into school, but I am sure I got treated a lot worse there based on gender stereotypes and not even knowing how I supposedly wasn’t acting “right”. But that was one of the ways.
It’s also important for people to be aware that anyone can have any presentation, though there are also some common patterns there.

I’m semi-convinced that ADHD is several different things, and that the hyperactive/inattentive/mixed split doesn’t cut reality at the joints. But yeah.

Same here. I suspect there are multiple things going on which end up under that umbrella. Besides people adjusting their observable behavior to deal with social pressures.