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Beyond the Stereotype: Why ADHD in Girls Remains Misunderstood
The world of scientific research still has a long way to go before understanding of the female presentation of ADHD matches that of males. When I first started teaching in 1997, ADHD was splashed across the newspapers, often framed as a myth. The dominant narrative suggested that ADHD didn’t exist at all, it was simply an excuse for poor parenting, a bad diet, or bratty behaviour. The idea that girls might struggle with it too wasn’t even considered. Instead, it quickly became associated with ‘naughty’ boys, while girls remained out of the equation.
Little did I know 30 years later that I would be sitting here with three diagnoses in the family: my son, my daughter and me! Would life have been very different if I’d been aware of what to look out for, if I’d recognised traits in myself and stopped blaming myself for all of the underachievement, mistakes with time, money and relationships?
When I began researching ADHD symptoms in females as part of my master’s degree in psychology, I was shocked to discover that the issue wasn’t a lack of belief that girls could have ADHD. In fact, nearly every study I reviewed included strong recommendations highlighting the need for more research into how ADHD presents in girls. The problem wasn’t the evidence; it was the lack of funding and interest from within the medical and psychiatric communities to take this further.
Now, twenty-five years later, many of those girls who struggled silently in school are lining up, desperate to confirm what they’ve long suspected, that they have ADHD, not just depression, anxiety, IBS, or other misdiagnosed conditions. This time, however, the headlines tell a different, equally harmful story: ‘Everyone has ADHD these days.’ At the same time, the medical system shifts the goalposts, making it harder for people with private diagnoses to access medication through their GP. I don’t need to explain how infuriating that is. It’s simply unfair.
I’ve written about this issue many times, particularly the focus on waiting times and the rising numbers of people searching for answers. Until the government begins to collect and analyse data that includes gender breakdowns, society will continue to dismiss this reality and blame social media for the surge in diagnoses. Again, it’s unfair.
While research into female ADHD continues to lag behind, there are many areas that urgently need attention. Hormones, particularly oestrogen, can significantly influence ADHD symptoms during puberty and perimenopause. How do I know? Because I’m one of those women currently playing what feels like Russian roulette with HRT and ADHD symptoms. I’ve also coached many girls who sailed through their GCSEs, in part due to the temporary boost in dopamine receptor sensitivity that can improve executive functioning and motivation. But when that levels off, the impact can be significant.
I continue every day to advocate for girls in schools who have undiagnosed or diagnosed ADHD. The main reason being that awareness, training and research are still playing catch up, and we are in real danger of letting a whole new generation fall through the cracks and miss out on the support they deserve.
While menopausal women fight to be heard, many teenage girls are being overlooked completely, misunderstood, mislabelled, and misdiagnosed. Their struggles are often internal, masked, and quietly damaging. We must not wait another twenty five years to act.
That’s why I focused my study on the experiences of undiagnosed girls in secondary schools. If you're a parent, teacher, SENDCo, or professional working in this space, head over to my website shop and download a copy. I’d love to hear from you if you can relate or if you want to share your insights into how we identify and support these girls.
👉 Find out more here: https://www.the-adhd-teacher.co.uk/library.html
The world of scientific research still has a long way to go before understanding of the female presentation of ADHD matches that of males. When I first started teaching in 1997, ADHD was splashed across the newspapers, often framed as a myth. The dominant narrative suggested that ADHD didn’t exist at all, it was simply an excuse for poor parenting, a bad diet, or bratty behaviour. The idea that girls might struggle with it too wasn’t even considered. Instead, it quickly became associated with ‘naughty’ boys, while girls remained out of the equation.
Little did I know 30 years later that I would be sitting here with three diagnoses in the family: my son, my daughter and me! Would life have been very different if I’d been aware of what to look out for, if I’d recognised traits in myself and stopped blaming myself for all of the underachievement, mistakes with time, money and relationships?
When I began researching ADHD symptoms in females as part of my master’s degree in psychology, I was shocked to discover that the issue wasn’t a lack of belief that girls could have ADHD. In fact, nearly every study I reviewed included strong recommendations highlighting the need for more research into how ADHD presents in girls. The problem wasn’t the evidence; it was the lack of funding and interest from within the medical and psychiatric communities to take this further.
Now, twenty-five years later, many of those girls who struggled silently in school are lining up, desperate to confirm what they’ve long suspected, that they have ADHD, not just depression, anxiety, IBS, or other misdiagnosed conditions. This time, however, the headlines tell a different, equally harmful story: ‘Everyone has ADHD these days.’ At the same time, the medical system shifts the goalposts, making it harder for people with private diagnoses to access medication through their GP. I don’t need to explain how infuriating that is. It’s simply unfair.
I’ve written about this issue many times, particularly the focus on waiting times and the rising numbers of people searching for answers. Until the government begins to collect and analyse data that includes gender breakdowns, society will continue to dismiss this reality and blame social media for the surge in diagnoses. Again, it’s unfair.
While research into female ADHD continues to lag behind, there are many areas that urgently need attention. Hormones, particularly oestrogen, can significantly influence ADHD symptoms during puberty and perimenopause. How do I know? Because I’m one of those women currently playing what feels like Russian roulette with HRT and ADHD symptoms. I’ve also coached many girls who sailed through their GCSEs, in part due to the temporary boost in dopamine receptor sensitivity that can improve executive functioning and motivation. But when that levels off, the impact can be significant.
I continue every day to advocate for girls in schools who have undiagnosed or diagnosed ADHD. The main reason being that awareness, training and research are still playing catch up, and we are in real danger of letting a whole new generation fall through the cracks and miss out on the support they deserve.
While menopausal women fight to be heard, many teenage girls are being overlooked completely, misunderstood, mislabelled, and misdiagnosed. Their struggles are often internal, masked, and quietly damaging. We must not wait another twenty five years to act.
That’s why I focused my study on the experiences of undiagnosed girls in secondary schools. If you're a parent, teacher, SENDCo, or professional working in this space, head over to my website shop and download a copy. I’d love to hear from you if you can relate or if you want to share your insights into how we identify and support these girls.
👉 Find out more here: https://www.the-adhd-teacher.co.uk/library.html
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If I’d known that my daughter had ADHD would I have hired an ADHD coach? 100% yes. No hesitation. Back when my daughter was doing her A levels she was doing her best to keep up. On top of a long journey to get to college, she was juggling demanding lessons with huge amounts of content, homework so detailed it would make your eyes water and the pressure of fortnightly assessments. Strangely, five years later, I ended up working in the same college as a coach and mentor and, to this day, I don’t know how she made it through.
During A levels, we didn’t have a diagnosis, in fact, we had no idea. The focus growing up had been spent purely on my son who had displayed all of the typical ‘naughty boy’ traits and it had been a battle just keeping him in school! My daughter, on the other hand had stayed under the radar and been ‘a good girl’ but as soon as she left to do A levels the wheels started to wobble and come flying off.
Now, I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but had I known she had ADHD and about her struggles with executive functioning: meeting deadlines, time management and note taking, I know I would have hired a coach straight away. The impact of not having this support meant that my daughter saw herself as lesser than her peers: ‘If they can do it, why can’t I?’ And, over time this took its toll on her self-esteem.
Despite all of these challenges, she made it through and I am still proud to this day because if she could do it with all of the challenges of ADHD and no support, just how smart, determined and tenacious must she be?
Coaching gives the coachee the opportunity to sit and talk about how the brain is working at trying to cope with these issues. Better still, coaching enables the person to figure out why something may be happening and what can be done to solve it. It sounds weird I know, but the purpose of the coach in these circumstances is to be the sounding board. It’s not a ‘You should do this… or that…’ situation, It’s far more likely to be: ‘How might you?’ question than anything else. The results of these conversations are nothing short of magic to me and when the young people I support talk about how their lives have changed and how they will always benefit from having these insights, I know I am on the right path to help others just like my daughter.
Coaching can change your child’s life. Let’s talk - book your free 30-minute call today.
During A levels, we didn’t have a diagnosis, in fact, we had no idea. The focus growing up had been spent purely on my son who had displayed all of the typical ‘naughty boy’ traits and it had been a battle just keeping him in school! My daughter, on the other hand had stayed under the radar and been ‘a good girl’ but as soon as she left to do A levels the wheels started to wobble and come flying off.
Now, I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but had I known she had ADHD and about her struggles with executive functioning: meeting deadlines, time management and note taking, I know I would have hired a coach straight away. The impact of not having this support meant that my daughter saw herself as lesser than her peers: ‘If they can do it, why can’t I?’ And, over time this took its toll on her self-esteem.
Despite all of these challenges, she made it through and I am still proud to this day because if she could do it with all of the challenges of ADHD and no support, just how smart, determined and tenacious must she be?
Coaching gives the coachee the opportunity to sit and talk about how the brain is working at trying to cope with these issues. Better still, coaching enables the person to figure out why something may be happening and what can be done to solve it. It sounds weird I know, but the purpose of the coach in these circumstances is to be the sounding board. It’s not a ‘You should do this… or that…’ situation, It’s far more likely to be: ‘How might you?’ question than anything else. The results of these conversations are nothing short of magic to me and when the young people I support talk about how their lives have changed and how they will always benefit from having these insights, I know I am on the right path to help others just like my daughter.
Coaching can change your child’s life. Let’s talk - book your free 30-minute call today.