Does she talk a lot because she wants to or because it’s her way of being hyperactive without control? Is she lazy or does she just get overwhelmed with work and doesn’t know where to start? There seems to be a misconception that boys are just more likely to have, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/ attention deficit disorder, better known as ADHD or ADD. This is not a true statement at all. Girls are underdiagnosed with ADHD because their symptoms look different from boys, socially they do not act the same.

When thinking of ADHD the first thing that comes to someone’s mind is a hyperactive rebellious child. There are eighteen main category symptoms of ADHD that are divided into two separate sections based on inattentiveness and hyperactivity/ impulsivity; therefore, one is required to have six or more symptoms from either category or both (Ringeisen 16). Remember hyperactivity is only half of the name and symptoms differ from child to child. Everyone has different symptoms so ADHD will not look the same in each kid. One may be quiet, inattentive, and shy while another can be loud, hyperactive, and talkative. The scales range from completely introverted to totally extroverted, but both can still have ADHD.

If a child has been diagnosed with ADHD they are likely to have another mental illness to tag along. “The CDC has found that 64% of people diagnosed with ADHD have other mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, autism, or Tourette’s syndrome (“Data”). If a child has undiagnosed ADHD she’s likely to develop one of these disorders because she has a hard time understanding why she’s not like her peers. The kid might become anxious that they will say or do the wrong thing creating a scene. Development of depression could come from having difficult time-making friends. There become even more problems when “The manifestation of ADHD characteristics in [children] result in lowered self-esteem, heightened emotional reactions, a lack of focus, and difficulty with peer and family relationships,” creating added stress and difficulty comprehending how to act (Fugate 86-87). These children can see problems with themselves but are unsure why they act the way they do. They have a hard time completing work giving off the perception they may be lazy when truly they just can not focus. It also does not help when some of these children are hypersensitive emotionally, sensory, and physically is common amongst people with ADHD (ADDepth 1). Hypersensitivity is, in short, the ability to over feel everything including other people's emotions. It sounds strange that empaths can be real but it is very much true. Kids with ADHD can read a room very easily and it can become overwhelming. The emotions become their own in a way. Physically, an example of hypersensitivity is like a tag being stuck to a child's shirt. Many can forget about it eventually and be unbothered, but a child with ADHD will focus on it continually because it feels itchy and bugs them. They hyperfocus on the tag until they can no longer handle it and cut it off. There is more to ADHD than a jumpy kid. Effects of ADHD will differ from child to child and even from girls to boys.

Symptoms of ADHD will differ from girl to girl but there are very common themes among all of them. A reason it can be harder to identify a girl with ADHD “is that girls are less rebellious, less defiant, generally less "difficult" than boys.” (Nadeau 1). Who rattles up a class more, the girls or the boys? Usually, what first comes to mind is the boys. Boys are naturally hyperactive. Most can control it some can’t and those are usually the ones with ADHD. Girls’ hyperactivity isn’t shown through being jumpy, loud, and obnoxious though. “[Girls] do not differ from boys in measures of impulsivity, school performance, or social interactions, they have a greater cognitive and attentional impairment.” which can be difficult to identify since girls are normally seen to have a keen eye for detail (Quinn 2). Girls are typically more inattentive than hyperactive. They aren’t purposely spacing out it’s just hard to focus when there are so many other things going on around them. These girls are above average when it comes to their IQ but as school becomes a more demanding organization, attention, and follow-through, can hurt them badly making it seems as though they are simply lazy (Nadeau 2). These changes are not able to be seen till the ages of ten to twelve.

The change from elementary school to middle school is typically where this drop in academics occurs. As everything gets hard more challenges start to happen and the girls can’t keep up. Girls will develop two types of motivation, approach motivation which are things they enjoy or relate to pleasure, and avoidance motivation when they will push away the task at hand because it is undesirable (Fugate 84). This method of thinking can be why girls' grades in subjects can vary greatly. If she is good at math but finds English boring her math grade can look high and pleasing, whilst her English grade can look low and below average even though she may be good at it. Girls with ADHD

often are perfectionists and set goals that can be difficult to achieve, or even impossible; therefore, they have a deep fear of failing themselves but mainly the people they want to impress like parents, teachers, friends, etc. (Fugate 86). There becomes a point in the girls' school work where they realize what they want to do and what they will procrastinate on or never even do. If they have the motivation to do something it will be done at a hundred percent and will have nearly no flaw. Then there are the things like homework they set aside till the last minute. If they don’t understand it or have no motivation to do it, they won’t. It is not that it is a bad habit, rather just a simple way of dividing on conquering what they are willing to put their efforts toward because that is simply how their brains work. Academically, girls with undiagnosed ADHD struggle greatly with their brilliant minds that can not focus and the same can happen socially with their peers too.

Social behaviors are not the same as girls without ADHD and can affect how these girls choose to act. It is common for some of these girls can tell something is different about them before getting diagnosed with ADHD and have mixed feelings when they do get diagnosed (MedGen 3). There is difficulty in deciphering how much ADHD had impacted these girls' lives for so long without being diagnosed. Often they have built their personalities around their once perceived quirks, now symptoms. “Would you rather be smart or popular” is the typical question running through a middle school girl’s mind with ADHD (Fugate 86). Maintaining a social life and academics is not easy but becomes harder and harder for girls with ADHD to hold. All their efforts become focused on school or holding some sort of status in school. This can put a lot of self-pressure on these girls giving them anxiety at school because they can’t keep grades or friendships.

Another problem that comes from these large personalities is “Girls with ADHD had a more difficult time making friends than girls did without, and the friendships they did establish were less stable.” (Fugate 85). Why is it difficult for girls with ADHD to make friends? Some possibilities are they have a difficult time knowing when to speak in a conversation, little looks and glances can make them perceive they are not welcomed, and when they are shamed for their spaced-out corks. These girls also have a difficult time controlling their emotions and can have outbursts that seem like they are overreacting (Adams 5). A simple misunderstanding can make them overanalyze the situation. This can make them question if they are in the wrong or if the other person is giving them more confusion. The girl themself may even think they are overreacting which can give her anxiety about the situation. If they have a hard time understanding themself, then it makes sense why these girls have a hard time making friends.

There is a lot of difficulties with being a girl with ADHD because of how their symptoms are masked compared to boys, the ways they act socially, and the lack of knowledge of how to help these girls. These girls are nothing short of amazing they just need help realizing they are not dumb, difficult, or too sensitive. They just have ADHD and need a little more help than others.

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