![]() ![]() ![]() There are two types of medications used to manage ADHD medication. ADHD medication has been around for more than fifty years and there are thousands of published research papers on their safety and efficacy. In uncomplicated cases of ADHD, medication management is straight forward and typically effective with minimal side effects. Boys’ symptoms of hyperactivity decrease in adolescence, but girls’ symptoms of mood swings, anxiety and depression often increase. Females with ADHD may be able to obtain some academic success due to obsessional and perfectionist tendencies, spending long hours on home work and assignments in order to compensate for their ADHD, further increasing their anxiety. Girls who have a high level of intelligence are even less likely to be diagnosed at school age, but will most often not reach their academic potential. Interestingly, new research has shown that girls with ADHD also have an increased risk for an additional diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder. Unfortunately, even today many females with ADHD may be treated for depression and anxiety, often unsuccessfully, while their underlying ADHD remains undiagnosed and untreated. ADHD can also be misdiagnosed as one of these disorders. The primarily inattentive presentation of ADHD more frequently found in females, although not exclusively, can often go undiagnosed resulting in later coexisting disorders of anxiety and depression. Girls that do end up in a doctor’s office for an assessment are most often those with the hyperactive/impulsive presentation, or those with symptoms on the severe end of the spectrum. For this reason, girls are frequently not diagnosed until later in adolescence or adulthood. Often, but not always, this is the way that girls with ADHD present in an academic setting. It is easy to spot the student with a strong hyperactive and impulsive component in the classroom, however spotting the quiet, undemanding, student who spends much of their time daydreaming is more of a challenge. ![]()
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