More and more adult women are being diagnoses with ADHD, a life-long neurodevelopmental disorder that can present differently in men and women, and yet is diagnosed far more frequently in boys. In order to get an ADHD diagnoses, one's symptoms must have been present in childhood, before the age of 12, and must have caused at least some fictional impairment. Yet symptoms in girls with ADHD have often been overlooked and dismissed in the past. This is due, in part, to the fact that girls are better at masking their symptoms and often do not present with the same "acting out" behaviors that flag their male counterparts for a more timely diagnoses. (This recent Pharmacy Times article further highlights the differences in how ADHD presents in girls and women)
Unfortunately, a delayed diagnosis for girls means less interventions, less support, less acceptance, thereby contributing to more internalized sense of shame and self criticism. Additionally, societal expectations of women and girls further contribute to them developing compensatory strategies like perfectionism, rumination and extreme masking, in order to appear appropriately "productive", "presentable" and "up to par". All of this can be simply exhausting, particularly in combination with the already existing deficits in executive functioning that is characteristic of ADHD.
Furthermore, things can get even more challenging in times of hormonal fluctuations. Moreover, almost 50 percent of adult ADHD diagnoses are diagnosed during or after pregnancy, a particularly vulnerable time for women who may be already struggling to keep it all together. The familial and societal expectation of the mother being able to do it all, the mental load of all that parenting entails, the shifting self-identity, the shifting of the marital dyad, all add up to a population of people who are extremely vulnerable to burnout and even breakdown. Therefore it is imperative that we start paying attention to the girls. It is vital that we continue supporting the moms, while simultatiously questioning our productivity-obsessed societal expectation for both genders, and continue updating the definition of what is a successful and productive life.
Unfortunately, a delayed diagnosis for girls means less interventions, less support, less acceptance, thereby contributing to more internalized sense of shame and self criticism. Additionally, societal expectations of women and girls further contribute to them developing compensatory strategies like perfectionism, rumination and extreme masking, in order to appear appropriately "productive", "presentable" and "up to par". All of this can be simply exhausting, particularly in combination with the already existing deficits in executive functioning that is characteristic of ADHD.
Furthermore, things can get even more challenging in times of hormonal fluctuations. Moreover, almost 50 percent of adult ADHD diagnoses are diagnosed during or after pregnancy, a particularly vulnerable time for women who may be already struggling to keep it all together. The familial and societal expectation of the mother being able to do it all, the mental load of all that parenting entails, the shifting self-identity, the shifting of the marital dyad, all add up to a population of people who are extremely vulnerable to burnout and even breakdown. Therefore it is imperative that we start paying attention to the girls. It is vital that we continue supporting the moms, while simultatiously questioning our productivity-obsessed societal expectation for both genders, and continue updating the definition of what is a successful and productive life.
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