ADHD is commonly referred to as a disorder that affects people with attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and lack of concentration. All of these symptoms of those who possess ADHD are true. The general framework of this disorder is clearly laid out to almost every individual that has had some exposure to either children or have indulged themselves in a profession that involves human disorders. However, most people do not know that there can be two seperate sides to this situations that we normally ignore or are ignorant of.
When asked about ADHD, most of us probably picture a boy running around mindlessly in a room, knocking toys over, blabbering gibberish, biting paper, and running into things and people. This picture is not wrong to image, but it has far too encompassed our realm and reality of this disorder. Most of us presume the word ADHD fits with ‘boys’. We always imagine boys being hyperactive and not girls. Is this classification fair? Have we been overlooking something? If so, what is the evidence? In this article we will be discussing a few of these questions.
Girls and Boys display different ADHD symptoms. Symptoms of boys include getting distracted easily, hyperactivity, etc. However, with girls, the case is a bit different. Girls do not display their symptoms as easily as boys do. For example, in most cases, you will not see girls pushing around their peers in the classroom or even raving through toys. Occasionally, the most you will probably see, in girls, is probably over chatty or itchy. Girls try to compensate for their weaknesses that they start to hide their true selves and feelings. With that being said, there are some things to look out for in determining whether a girl has ADHD: non stop talking, speaking out of turn, disorganization, and trouble finishing assignments on time. Generally, however, the symptoms are not as uncontrolled and extravagant as compared to those that boys display.
Now that we know that recognizing whether a girl has ADHD is harder than knowing whether or not a boy has ADHD, we can dive into a deeper discussion of the symptoms of ADHD in girls. There are some key differences when it comes to comparing ADHD between girls and boys. For one, girls tend to over emotional than boys. They struggle to start, build, and maintain relationships with their teachers, parents, family, and peers. Generally, girls with ADHD tend to do better on tests than boys with ADHD. The case might be made that girls’ symptoms of ADHD have to do more with the mental rather than the physical body. For example, studies show that girls with ADHD are sometimes subject to having anxiety, depression, and low self esteem.
As opposed to being less active, girls actually display a lot more symptoms of attention deficit instead of the hyperactive aspect of things. Their main realm of ADHD revolves around the perception of their feelings, work ethic, and productivity.
Knowing whether or not a girl has ADHD is far harder than knowing whether a boy has ADHD. The reasons stated in this article have explained that girls are able to hide their shortcomings and weaknesses better than boys. Another huge reason why, as a general population, we have become more susceptible to not knowing when a girl has ADHD is because of the way the media portrays the word “ADHD” in the first place. If you have a daughter, it is very important that you realize her symptoms and treat her accordingly.
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