Women with ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is common, but how much do we actually know about it? I have struggled with ADHD my entire life, and yes, it is a struggle. I was diagnosed in the sixth grade, but it is something I was born with. After learning that I have ADHD, all of my learning obstacles made sense. I always had trouble focusing in class and sometimes felt as if I couldn’t think. When I was younger and unable to focus on a lesson, an enormous red-brick wall would appear in my mind, keeping me from focusing or moving forward with my thought processes. I felt stupid and helpless, unable to break through the strong brick wall. As I grew older, the brick wall faded but my focus issues remained. 

Now, in my high school years, I still have trouble focusing, just in different ways. I have found techniques to help me focus during class like eating a snack or fidgeting with something in my hands. Now I find trouble focusing during something that has become all too familiar, standardized tests. For people with learning disabilities, standardized tests are a nightmare. Having extra time on tests is helpful but also unhelpful; I appreciate the extra time on sections of my standardized test, but it drags the whole process along five hours instead of two or three. Since my brain gets distracted much easier than the average person, I have to work harder to focus. When my mind is tasked to work twice as hard for a longer amount of time, I am completely burnt out by the end of my test. Often the last sections of my tests aren't as well done as my first sections because I am so tired. To fix this issue, I have requested to take my standardized tests over two days to give my brain time to rest so I could perform to the best of my ability. 

ADHD presents differently for everyone, as many things do, but there are significant differences between how males and females present it. Although ADHD is just as common in females as males, females are often underdiagnosed, says psychcentral.com. According to the National Institute of Health, males present with more hyperactive and impulsive symptoms, and females present with inattentive symptoms. This also means that since males have more “disruptive” tendencies, females aren't as frequently prescribed medication. For many disorders, ADHD included, some females go longer without diagnoses because the “typical” signs and symptoms are male-presenting symptoms that may not be a direct tell for females. NBC News says many medical tests are still “male-based” making it difficult to diagnose females since our results differ from males. Lack of diagnoses also can be affected by cultural and gender biases. 

Although I want to do anything I can to help my ADHD, I am scared to take any medication. Ever since I was little I witnessed some of my friends' appetites deplete, personalities shift, and overall negativity as a result of medication. If in order to fully amend my ADHD issues I have to sacrifice my personality, I don’t want to fix it. 

Diagnoses generally start before twelve but could present as early as two or three years old. Hormones and puberty also have the ability to affect presenting symptoms. 4.4% of adults in the U.S. struggle with ADHD, 5.4% of males and 3.2% of females according to Cross River Therapy. For adults, diagnoses are more complex because the abundance of traumas, medical conditions, etc. are taken into account more thoroughly. It is even shown that white people are often more commonly diagnosed than any other racial group. I hope that one day we can change the statistics and practices not only for ADHD in women but for everyone who is underrepresented. No one should have to feel like they are stupid just because they don’t know how their brain processes information. 

By Peyton Louie