ADHD
Teachers are usually first to report ADHD—Teachers and other school personal are responsible for the surge in the use of medications to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. ... In large numbers cases we find that, girls may often go undiagnosed for ADHD because boys typically show all the symptoms of ADHD and girls generally do-not show all the typical symptoms. ADHD in Girls May Often Go Undiagnosed—Behaving disruptively—the most commonly recognizable sign of ADHD. This has always been the number one sign, that a child may have ADHD, however, girls with ADHD generally will not behave disruptively. ... The study researchers say that this is the largest and most comprehensive study of girls with ADHD to date. The prevalence of both conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder (disruptive behavior disorders) found in this sample of girls with ADHD were half of those previously reported in boys with ADHD, the researchers write. "The lower rates of these disorders in girls may lead to the under-recognition of ADHD in girls and may account for the marked gender differences frequently reported in clinical samples of children with ADHD." According to the researcher, Joseph Biederman—because ADHD is not as visible in girls as it is in boys, it is less likely to be identified and treated. ... " The other major signs and symptoms of ADHD—impulsivity, hyperactivity, and difficulty paying attention—are similar in both sexes, he says. Collectively, we need to do a better job in educating our families, teachers and childcare providers, in recognizing the signs and symptoms of ADHD, so both, girls and boys will be able to get the help they need.