Anxiety. Depression. School failure. Self-harm. Unemployment. Unplanned pregnancies. Even an increased risk of early death.
The risks and toll of suffering that can come with having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is huge, counted annually in billions of dollars in lost productivity and health care spending and in untold frustration and failure.
Yet despite more than a century of research and thousands of published studies, ADHD — marked by distraction, forgetfulness and impulsivity — remains largely misunderstood by the public. This is especially true when it comes to girls and women.
Over the past few decades, pediatricians, teachers and parents have gotten a lot better at spotting ADHD in girls. In the 1990s, scientists believed it was as much as nine times as common in boys, and very few girls were diagnosed. Today’s diagnosis rate has narrowed to 2.5 boys to every girl.
