So many women and girls aren’t diagnosed with ADHD, or are misdiagnosed. Many only get their diagnosis of ADHD as adults. Even then, men and boys are more likely to get diagnosed that women and girls. It is missed in up to 50 to 75% of women.
The main reason it is so often missed is because ADHD in girls and women looks different. When it comes to ADHD, so many think of the typical hyperactive boy. In fact, boys with ADHD continue to struggle with it as adults. And women and girls are also affected by ADHD as well.
So, How Does It Look Like In Girls & Women?
First off, while boys and men tend to be hyperactive, women and girls with ADHD tend to fall in the inattentive type. This may be why so many fall under the radar. The symptoms are more subtle and can be more easily missed.
In other words, women and girls with ADHD are more likely to:
- Have difficulty focusing, will daydream.
- Have difficulty staying organized.
- Be forgetful.
- Struggle socially.
- Be forgetful.
- Feel overwhelmed.
- Difficulty paying attention to details.
- Constantly losing or misplacing things.
These are just some things that girls and women with ADHD struggle with, on a daily basis, throughout the day.
So, At the End of the Day …
It can be easy to see what women and girls may not be diagnosed with ADHD as often. Especially considering a lot of the symptoms are internal and we sometimes get used to masking it and find ways to compensate.
Although some men with ADHD have the inattentive type and some women have the hyperactive type, for the most part, women have the inattentive type and this is usually how ADHD looks in women and girls.
Stay tune for next week’s post on how it affects women and girls!
