Still , an old problem persists . Whereas many boys with ADHD are normally more physically restless and impulsive , traits clinicians refer to as “ hyperactive ,” many girls with the disorder may be more introverted , dreamier and distracted — or in clinical jargon , “ inattentive .” In part due to these subtler symptoms , experts suspect that many girls with ADHD are still escaping notice — and missing out on treatment .
“ Who gets noticed as having ADHD ?” asks Stephen Hinshaw , a psychologist at the University of California , Berkeley , and a leading researcher on ADHD in girls . “ You get referred if you ’ re noticeable , if you ’ re disrupting others . More boys than girls have aggression problems , have impulsivity problems . So girls with inattentive problems are not thought to have ADHD .” Instead , he says , educators and others assume the problem is anxiety or troubles at home .
Hinshaw began studying girls with ADHD in 1997 , in a federally funded project that became known as the Berkeley Girls with ADHD Longitudinal Study ( B-GALS ). As he and fellow researchers followed their subjects into womanhood , they found that girls with ADHD have many of the same problems as boys with the disorder , and some extra ones .
Escaping notice is just one of girls ’ special burdens . Girls and women , in general , engage in more “ internalizing ” behavior than boys , Hinshaw says , meaning they tend to take their problems out on themselves rather than others . Compared with boys who have the disorder , as well as with girls without it , girls with ADHD suffer more anxiety and depression .
PRODUCED BY HUNNIMEDIA FOR KNOWABLE MAGAZINE
To Table of Contents
Accessibilty for All 57