difference between add and adhd symptoms

In one study of 283 children aged between 7 and 12 years old, Mowlem and colleagues looked at what differentiated both boys and girls who met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD from those who had a lot of ADHD symptoms, but not enough to be diagnosed. Research suggests that girls need to have more severe, and more visible, symptoms than boys before their ADHD will be recognised. “Yet, for some reason that we don’t quite understand, they don't seem to be getting the clinical diagnosis as often as males.” “It would seem to suggest that there's actually a lot more females who are affected by ADHD,” says Florence Mowlem, an associate at healthcare consultancy Aquarius Population Health. Depending on which research you look at, the ratio of boys to girls with ADHD could be anywhere between 2:1 and 10:1. In studies that look at who meets ADHD criteria in the population as a whole, however, the ratio still favours boys, but less so. When it comes to real-world diagnoses, boys far outweigh girls. It’s not clear why that’s the case, but it could be that girls have a protective effect at the genetic level, she says.īut the true size of the difference is unclear. “It's an actual neurobiological difference that we're seeing,” says Arnett. In one study of 2,332 twins and siblings, Anne Arnett, a clinical child psychologist at the University of Washington, found that a sex difference in diagnosis could be explained by differences in symptom severity: boys tended to have more extreme symptoms, and a broader distribution of symptoms, than girls. There is a concrete difference between the prevalence of ADHD in boys versus girls. “At that time I couldn’t focus on anything,” she says. At her lowest point she was spending days on end in bed. In an effort to start afresh, Johnson-Ferguson gave up her bad habits, but found no respite from her symptoms instead, they got worse. Her bulimia persisted throughout university, and for the next 20 years she also used alcohol, caffeine, and sugary drinks to self-medicate – common among adults with ADHD.Īs her marriage broke down, she started to find life even more difficult. She switched courses, but it didn’t help. “When I was left to my own devices at university I just couldn't concentrate at all,” says Johnson-Ferguson. For those whose symptoms are missed as children, living with undiagnosed ADHD as they move into adulthood causes problems. The condition is usually first diagnosed in childhood, but most people don’t grow out of it. Those with hyperactivity and impulsivity might struggle to stay sitting down, constantly fidget, and interrupt conversations. People with inattention may forget things, struggle to get organised, and find themselves easily distracted.

The health risks of girls maturing earlyĪDHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that comes in three types: inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, or a combination of both.

Why Alzheimer’s hits women harder than men.

You might also like these other stories in the Health Gap: Girls can have ADHD, too – and many go without diagnosis, and without treatment that could change their lives.

Though the stereotypical image of ADHD is a boy bouncing around a classroom, that’s not the whole picture. It was only last year, aged 42, that she finally got to the root of her problems: ADHD. Doctors tried to blame them on family problems and stress, but she knew that wasn’t it. The eating disorders she began suffering from as a teenager were her attempt to slow down her brain. Emily Johnson-Ferguson’s mind has been racing for as long as she can remember.

Difference between add and adhd symptoms