ADHD in Women and Girls
Regarder la vidéo en françaisThis October for ADHD Awareness Month we are raising awareness about ADHD in women and girls. Why are we doing this?
- Boys are three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls
- Girls are diagnosed with ADHD on average five years later than boys — boys at age 7 and girls at age 12.
- Many girls never get diagnosed.
- Research indicates that up to 75 percent of girls with attention problems are undiagnosed.
Why is this? Misconceptions about ADHD have led many to believe that ADHD is just for 'hyperactive young boys', which is not true. ADHD occurs in girls and in adult women. When women go undiagnosed, they lack the opportunity to understand their ADHD and implement the right management strategies
GIRLS
- Struggle to make and maintain friends
- Low self-esteem
- girls with ADHD have higher rates of self-harm, substance abuse, and suicide attempts
- youth with ADHD are 3x more likely to use, abuse or become dependent on nicotine, and marijuana during adolescence
- Teens with ADHD are 3 times more likely to be obese and develop type 2 diabetes
- Females with ADHD are 3.5 times more at risk of developing an eating disorder
WOMEN
- Adults with ADHD are 20% less likely to be employed and earn an average of 16% less than their counterparts (Biederman, et al., 2006)
- Individuals with ADHD are 45% to 47% more likely to be involved in a serious transport accident (Chang 2014).
- Adults with ADHD are 10 times more likely to visit physicians and had higher rates of emergency room visits and hospital stays (Katzmanet al., 2017)
- Depression and anxiety 1 in 4 women with ADHD has attempted suicide
RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS
GIRLS
- Struggle to maintain attention
- Overly talkative
- Daydreamy
- Overly sensitive
- Struggle socially
- Forgetful Disorganized and messy
- Withdrawn
- Doodling/fidgeting
- Blurts out words without thinking
- Sensitivities (noise, fabrics, foods)
WOMEN
- Disorganized
- Anxious
- Depressed
- Forgetful
- Misunderstood
- Overwhelmed
- Overly talkative
- social anxiety
- struggle to meet deadlines
WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR AWARNESS MONTH!
RAISE AWARENESS
Raise awareness about ADHD in women and girls by posting on social media. We have images, videos, example posts that you can share for ADHD Awareness Month in our Social Media Toolkit. Available in English and French
Download our Awareness ToolkitDONATE TO CADDAC
As the only national charity focused solely on ADHD, we are in the early planning stages of developing programs and services for ADHD communities across Canada, but we need YOUR HELP to do it!
In Canada resources and support for people living with ADHD are minimal. CADDAC improves the lives of those affected by ADHD through awareness, education, and advocacy.
Your generous gift will contribute to establishing programs and services for ADHD communities in Canada as well as support the work CADDAC is already doing in the areas of advocacy, awareness, and education.
DONATEWOMEN SUPPORT GROUPS
- Home | WAM Website
- We have forums for many topics, such as: strategies, medication, natural treatments, cannabis use, academics forum…
- Get support by chatting on the Support Group page;
- Find co-work buddies;
- Check out our calendar of events.
- Inquire at wam.womenwithadhd@gmail.com
POLICY PAPER ON ADHD AND FEMALES
DOWNLOAD GIRLS AND WOMEN WITH ADHD POLICY PAPERFACEBOOK LIVE EVENT - ADHD AND WOMEN
