ADHD & GIRLS!
So in previous posts we've established that not everyone diagnosed with ADHD is badly behaved. We've established that ADHD has three types . . .
Girls don't tend to fit with the media stereotypes and so will be harder for parents and professionals to spot!
It was a London policeman who first spotted ADHD in my then 9 year old daughter. The school missed it, the social worker missed it and so did I. My daughter had had a meltdown and run out of the house. I couldn't find her and my husband went searching the streets. Desperate I'd called the police for help. The policeman brought her back and he sat me down and suggested I get her checked for the possibility of an ADHD diagnosis and he said he didn't know but had seen very similiar stuff before and thought it would be a good idea. The meltdown had begun over taking a shower no less! My daughter was going through a very difficult time at school and this behaviour was unusual. She was exhibiting great distress at that time. I'm pleased to say that properly supported, identified and treated this is a very rare occurance these days.
A wonderful piece here about identifying girls with ADHD . . .
"One of the key reasons girls are so often overlooked is that they exhibit hyperactivity differently than boys, according to Patricia Quinn, M.D., director of the National Center for Gender Issues and ADHD in Washington, D.C. “In a classroom setting, a boy might continually blurt out answers or repeatedly tap his foot, whereas a girl might demonstrate hyperactivity by talking incessantly,” she says. A girl who talks all the time is often viewed by the teacher as chatty, not hyper or problematic — and thus is less likely to be recommended for an evaluation.
Another reason that ADHD is often missed in girls is that they’re more likely than boys to suffer from inattentive ADHD. The symptoms of this sub-type (which include poor attention to detail, limited attention span, forgetfulness, distractibility, and failure to finish assigned activities) tend to be less disruptive and obvious than those of hyperactive ADHD. Put simply, a (hyperactive) boy who repeatedly bangs on his desk will be noticed before the (inattentive) girl who twirls her hair while staring out the window. “I believe I was overlooked for so long because I didn’t show hyperactivity the way my two brothers with ADHD have,” says Burns"