What does ADHD look like in girls?
ADHD is often missed in girls because they are not hyper or disruptive. Instead, they spend their lives struggling and suffering alone.
So many women I’ve spoken to about ADHD talk about the grief that follows an ADHD diagnosis — that feeling of sadness for the little girl who struggled so hard, and the resentment over the fact that nobody helped or saw the signs.
I recently went into my attic and dug up my old report cards to see if the “signs” were there — and it broke my heart to watch my slow decline. Over the years, this bright, capable leader essentially gave up on herself because she was told time and time again that she can do better.
“Better” how? Someone please tell her!
SHE DIDN’T KNOW HOW!
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Not every woman with ADHD was terrible in high school school. In fact, many I’ve spoken with got decent grades.
But we all share in the feeling that we felt broken and needed help, and never felt like we could put our finger on what was wrong. We knew we had potential, and couldn’t figure out why we struggled so hard or how to stop disappointing everyone around us.
We like to talk about how ADHD is a superpower — and it is in SO MANY WAYS — but there is also a deep sadness to this diagnosis as we come to grips with how hard we have had to work over the years just to get by in a neurotypical world.
Believe me, I want to give all of those little girls a hug right now and tell them they’re do a fantastic job just as they are!
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