Does anyone know of any females with ADHD?

Question

My daughter is 13 and has ADHD but she has a very high IQ.This has become a nightmare because teachers cannot understand how she cannot control her behaviour if she is intelligent (I have to agree).Does anyone have a daughter or female friend with ADHD and how do the symptoms differ between girls and boys.

Answer 1

I am one. I'm 31 and was in the same position as your daughter. My parents just dismissed it as me being bad, and didn't get me treatment. I did the usual stuff--getting up and walking around, forgetting where I put things, and getting into a project only to completely forget what it was or why I started.
I don't know how exactly it compares with boys, but I urge you to look into some medication that can help her with impulse control. I didn't do this until I was out on my own, but it made a tremendous improvement in my life.
I am also fairly intelligent. I earned good grades, speak 4 languages, and enjoy puzzles in my spare time.
Symptoms that were uniquely female that I had were:
-Extreme vanity (saving allowance for pedicures, etc.)
-Crying fits, usually out of frustration
-perfectionism with projects I saw through
-tidiness, in my room, and throughout my parents house.
All of these things carried through to adulthood, and given more time and money came to include over shopping, drinking too much sometimes to quite things down in my brain a bit, and insomnia.
Be sure to give your daughter as much support as you can, and make sure she is aware of every aspect of her disorder and has a full understanding of her treatment. Mystery can be the scariest thing to a child.
She is on a certain level not able to control her behavior, but can learn over time certain patterns that must be followed.
Good luck to you and your daughter!

Answer 2

My best friend who is a girl had adhd and so does 2 of her sons. Thing is all 3 of them are highly intelligent and yet wild when not on their medication. Teachers should understand their behaviors. ADHD-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder . Break that down. Attention deficit-they have a very short attention span but yet their brains can still absorbs anything that goes on around them. As a matter of fact they actually learn better under pressure and noisey environments. Hyperactivity disorder-They are hyper as can be. It's like giving a toddler a sugar pop and expecting them to sit down and be quiet.

What concerns me about your situation is that you said the teachers don't understand it. If they did they would understand why she is so intelligent and why she can't control her hyper side and believe me that is effecting how she is being educated. I would highly recommend getting your daughter into an atomosphere where she is understood and where she can get the proper education.This is a serious issue and she needs to know ppl understand.

Answer 3

Does your daughter have a formal diagnosis of ADHD from a doctor?

The only difference between boys and girls is that boys tend to be more aggressive and their behavior problems might be more obvious.

Your daughter might be bored in the classroom. Intelligence isn't always a guarantee that someone is going to follow rules--if she feels she's smarter than the teachers she might feel she doesn't have to listen to them. Maybe the school could offer some kind of extra work to keep her busy.

I went to grade school in the 1960s, they didn't have as many behavior categories as they do now. I couldn't stay focused in school. I was also very clumsy and especially bad at sports and gym class. One teacher wrote down that I was "mentally retarded." They had my IQ tested and it was somewhere between 130 and 150--I can't remember the exact number but it was way above average. Then they didn't have an excuse to send me to special school--I was labeled as "just difficult." Public school was terrible, it got a little better when I was transferred to a private school.

I was depressed throughout childhood, but I never got treatment until I was an adult. Based on today's standards, I think I might have been labeled as having Attention Deficit Disorder (without Hyperactivity) while I was in grade school

Answer 4

I have a daughter with ADHD. Prior to getting her on Focalin we tried several medications, nothing seemed to work. She was getting horrid grades and she made a lot of enemies amongst the nasty 5-6 grade girls. She doesn't have many friends.

Her grades have improved substantially. She has been on the honor role for a couple semesters.
She is a very "determined" (in your face) child..

Our 15 yo son is ADD (not HD), he is a typical "Zits" teen, busy with friends. High IQ but motivation stinks. (unless it is something HE is interested in.)

Conversely my daughter has motivation to do well in all school subjects because she has made the career determination already she wants to go to a good college and then med school. She hasn't got interest in boys yet, likely because she has a brother she fights with.

We had the luck of having a pediatric neuropsychiatrist in our community who has been active in drug studies. We got both kids the help they needed.

Truth be told if your daughter is not on the right medication she won't be able to control her actions. ADD / ADHD are both problematic.

Are the teachers aware of her ADHD? consider contacting a good pediatrician or pediatric psychiatrist in a metro area it may help your situation.

Answer 5

I know of females with ADHD although it is more prevalent in boys. I myself have many symptoms of it, but have never been diagnosed. It isn't connected to intelligence, she can't control her behaviour as to her there's nothing wrong with it, the very nature of ADHD means she has low concentration unless it is something she is really in to and hyperactivity. I'm afraid to tell you that the teachers are looking for a "get-out clause", as they simply do not have the time or capacity to deal with such children nowadays.

If I were you, I'd seek advice from your gp, they may be able to put you in touch with a support organisation or group that could give you better tips.

Answer 6

I have ADD without the hyperactivity (more impulsivity)

I was diagnosed in high school as it is harder to diagnose in females

I graduated from college with honors in the top of my class and my degree is in special education

ADHD means the person displays both signs of impulsivity and hyperactivity---this makes it hard for the person to focus on one topic and control their behaviors--especially if one is highly intelligent---they are most likely completely bored due to their extreme intelligence which then onsets the disability even more and makes them act out more frequently---ADHD is a chemical imbalance and can be treated with self-monitoring/check, counseling/therapy and medication

boys tend to show more signs of ADHD because of the fact they tend to be the more aggressive sex and also more free-spirited and "goofy"

i received both counseling and medication formy ADD growing up---i still take Concerta as needed---i have also learned to cope with my difference and will not let it control my life

your daughter's teachers need to be accomodating to her (it is the law)---maybe they can give her frequent breaks to get up and walk or do a classroom chore to help with the hyperness and also give her extra work to do if she enjoys it to offset some of the impulsivity---she may also require extra time on tests and exams (which again is her right by law) due to the wandering mind/impulsivity (also she may do better with short answer and essay tests than multiple choice)---multiple choice has many choices for the answer in front of you and this can sometims be distracting and off set the mind wandering and focusign problems that are associated with ADHD---she may also need help with organization as this is another area affected by ADHD

Answer 7

I have ADD (attention deficit disorder) among other things. This means that I may not concentrate for long on what I should concentrate on.

Every subject for every school report mentions that I think I'm in cloud cuckoo land or I needed to realise I live in the real world or simply that I needed to concentrate.

For all this, I was constantly in sets one and two for everything. The teachers recognised that I had ability (I do, I have a high IQ too) but I couldn't acheive my potential because no-one knew about Asperger's Syndrome or ADD or Dyscalcula then.

I needed one to one attention to keep my mind on the subject but Pennywell Comp didn't do that unless you were in the remedial class (I remember thinking it was shocking when I veyr briefly got put down to set three).

These days, these conditions are discussed openly so make an appointment with your daughter's teachers. Please. The only thing about my childhood that I have a knawing bitterness about it that teachers and my parents knew I consistantly failed to make the grade and yet they all knew I had the ability and the yearning to learn and YET, no-one asked why.

I was totally oblivious to the whole thing, I just went on doing my own thing (a symptom of Asperger's), thinking I was doing fine.

Answer 8

I only know of boys, it is actually more common in boys. But i have heard before of very intelligent children playing up because work at school is just too easy for them and they are bored. It is probably worse in your daughters case as she has ADHD. Boredom and ADHD are a very bad mix! Maybe the teachers could set her some harder work?

Answer 9

I am female and only found out about my ADD 2 years ago in an Adult ADHD Study. I'm now 30 years old.

There are varying degrees of ADHD. While males are easily pegged by their by outrageous hyperactive behavior, females can exhibit more complex, quieter forms of ADD including inattentiveness and hyperfocus.

The symptoms that most stood out to me as I was going through the process:
- inattentiveness through school/college despite every effort to focus on the instructor.
- inability to wrap up projects, though the hardest most laborious pieces were done. Hyperfocusing on details to no end.
- rambling, inability to be concise
- interrupting others during conversation or blurting out answers to questions before the question is completed
- inabilty to wait in line.
- feeling preoccupied with something "else" often

Options to improve:
- Make checklists/todo lists and help her prioritize.
- Have teachers provide her with feedback.
- Challenge her more so that she is less dstracted - the classroom pace sounds too slow to keep your daughter fully engaged.
- Activities that involve a lot of logic or short term goals can help boost confidence. I found this through programming websites. Sudoku puzzles/crosswords/word games are also great for mental exercise.

Of course there are medication routes that are specific to ADD, more available online.

"Helping Your Daughter with ADD..."
http://www.addvance.com/help/women/daughter.html

Edit -- Bailey above mentioned impulsivity -- I want to second this trait. Impulsivity with activities and/or money is another sign of ADD. Tougher with females to identify, since shopping is, well -- fun. For me, being impulsive meant taking long, lost drives / explorations with no goal in mind. I also found that I had an uncontrollable urge to blow money on plane trips, hotels, and other people.

Answer 10

Someone I know through school has a daughter with ADHD. now properly diagnosed she is getting help and doing much better and much happier. More friends, able to learn, better in class etc. It IS much more common in boys (like ASD), but can occur in girls too. Hope this helps.