When we wrote the book, ADHD Is Awesome, we got to meet a lot of you on our book tour. In reading the book, many of you with ADHD felt seen for the first time. And some of you had no idea you had ADHD until you read the book and officially got diagnosed. The majority of those people were women. They read the book to support their child, partner, or friend and in the process realized they too had ADHD.
If we had one regret in writing our book, it was that we did not include more about how different ADHD presents in girls and women. But a big reason for that is that research doesn’t exist. According to CHADD, the majority of ADHD research has historically focused on boys leading to a significant gap in understanding how ADHD manifests in girls. This means females may be underdiagnosed. ADHD in boys often presents with hyperactivity and disruptive behavior, while girls may have more subtle symptoms like inattentiveness.
How We Treat Women With ADHD
There is very little research on how differently ADHD presents in girls and women. So this week, we invited Dr. Jennifer Gierisch and Dr. Julia Schechter from the Duke Center for Girls & Women with ADHD on the podcast to help us understand why that is. “An adult woman with ADHD told us, women tend to be internally hyperactive and externally inattentive,” explained Dr. Gierisch. “The fall out of that inattention can look like being super anxious.” Women with ADHD can struggle with time management, disorganization, overwhelm, anxiety, and depression.
There can also be a lot of shame when women find out they have ADHD. Given Dr. Gierisch, who studies ADHD for a living, was very hesitant to reveal that to her colleagues. In a workplace, men and women are often treated differently. When a woman is late to a meeting, people can perceive her as being disorganized and they get annoyed. When a man is late to a meeting, people can perceive that as him being busy and they are grateful he made the time. Adding ADHD on top of those perceptions can only exacerbate them.
You Are Not Alone
If any women or girls think they may have ADHD, they should know they are not alone and there are places to get help. The Duke Center for Girls & Women is a great resource to start with. There are tools for you to use when you go to meet with your primary care provider to get you started.
We’re so grateful for this conversation with Dr. Gierisch and Dr. Schechter. You can hear our discussion with them as well as our Top 5 Famous Women with ADHD list.
