Women and ADD

by Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D. and Patricia Quinn, M.D.

The majority of writing and research on ADD has traditionally focused on males, who were believed to make up 80% of all those with ADD. Now more and more females are being identified, especially now that we are more aware of the non-hyperactive subtype of ADD. Girls and women with ADD struggle with a variety of issues that are different from those faced by males. This article will highlight some of those differences, and will talk about the types of struggles faced by females with ADD.

Childhood issues for girls with ADD

Let's read the recollections of two women with ADD in childhood and adolescence. Marie is an introverted, "primarily inattentive" ADD female, who has struggled with anxiety and depression, in addition to ADD, both in childhood and in adulthood.

"The thing I remember the most was always getting my feelings hurt. I was a lot happier when I played with just one friend. When someone teased me I never knew how to defend myself. I really tried in school, but I hated it when the teacher called on me. Half the time I didn't even know what the question was. Sometimes I would get stomach aches and beg my mother to let me stay home from school." ~~Marie, age 34

These recollections are very different from those of a typical elementary school aged ADHD boy. She was hypersensitive to criticism, had difficulty with the rapid give and take of group interactions, and felt socially "out of it" except in the company of her one best friend.

Secondly, she was a compliant girl whose greatest desire was to conform to teacher expectations and not to draw attention to herself. Her distractibility caused agonizing feelings for her due to teacher disapproval and embarrassment in front of her peers.

Lauren's "hyperactive-impulsive" ADD patterns are more similar to those seen in many ADHD boys. She also recalls being stubborn, angry, defiant and rebellious and physically hyperactive. She was also hypersocial. Although we don't yet have adequate statistics for patterns in ADD girls, it seems likely that women like Lauren are in the minority when we examine ADD patterns.

"I can remember in grade school that everything felt frantic. I had a fight with my mom almost every morning. At school I was always jumping around, talking and passing notes. Some of my teachers liked me, but some of them -- the really strict ones -- didn't like me. And I hated them. I argued a lot and lost my temper. I cried really easily too, and some of the mean kids in the class liked to tease me and make me cry. ~~Lauren, age 27

Although we see the argumentativeness and defiance in Lauren which we see more often in ADHD boys, we also see that, like many ADD girls, she was hyper-social and hyperemotional. Life for Lauren, as for some other girls with ADD, was an emotional roller coaster. She was very disorganized, and had very low tolerance for stress.

ADD Adolescent Girls

Let's take a look at the recollections of Marie and Lauren during their adolescence. Life, for each of them, seemed to become even more difficult. Adolescence is difficult in general. When ADD is added to the mix, problems are amplified and stresses are intense.

"High school just overwhelmed me. None of my teachers knew me because I never spoke up in class. Exams terrified me. I hated to study and write papers. They were really hard for me and I put them off to the last minute. I didn't date at all in high school. People didn't dislike me, but I bet if I went back to a class reunion that no-one would remember who I was. I was pretty emotional, and it got ten times worse just before my period." ~~Mariel, age 34

"I was totally out of control in high school. I was smart, but a terrible student. I guess I worked on being a "party animal" to make up for all the things I wasn't good at. At home I was angry, totally rebellious. I snuck out of the house after my parents went to sleep at night. I lied all the time. My parents tried to control me or punish me, but nothing worked. I couldn't sleep at night, and was exhausted all day in school. Things were bad most of the time, but when I had PMS I really lost it. School meant nothing to me. ~~Lauren, age 27.