Research tells us that girls and women with ADHD are diagnosed much later in life than are boys and men due to misunderstood symptom profiles in women 1, outdated gender stereotypes, strong coping mechanisms among women, poor clinician awareness, and a high prevalence of comorbidities.
234Studies on gender differences show that ADHD is consistently under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, or undiagnosed in girls and women for the reasons above — and many more.
For one, we know that women and girls are socialized to be organized, generous, empathetic, and obedient. When ADHD makes it difficult to fulfill these ideals, girls and women are more likely to mask their symptoms to avoid judgment and ostracism.
Women are also twice as likely as men to experience depression, leading many clinicians to diagnose a mood disorder but miss the ADHD underneath it all.