ADHD Weekly, March 5, 2025

Our understanding of how ADHD affects girls and women continues to grow. Much of that progress has been driven by researchers, clinicians, and practitioners who are women. Early ADHD studies largely focused on hyperactive boys and were often conducted by male researchers. By asking new questions, challenging assumptions, and drawing on both scientific insight and lived experience, women in the field helped broaden the research and bring new perspectives into our evolving understanding of ADHD. Their work has been essential in recognizing how ADHD presents across the lifespan and in ensuring that girls and women receive the attention, research, and care they deserve.

Congress first designated March as National Women’s History Month in 1987—a month to remember and celebrate the often overlooked historical achievements of American women. CHADD is taking this Women’s History Month as an opportunity to celebrate the many women in ADHD research and the many people who have helped to advance the care of girls and women who have been historically overlooked.

“If we are recognizing the accomplishments of women and the adversity women have had to face, it’s important to remind ourselves of how the diagnosis and treatment in women has lagged that of men,” says Margaret H. Sibley, PhD, clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and a member of CHADD’s professional advisory board. “We still have a lot further to go in terms of making advancements in the adequate care of women with ADHD compared to men with ADHD.”

A look back

The early diagnostic criteria emphasized the symptoms of hyperactivity, which tend to show up earlier and more often in boys. Girls more commonly display symptoms related to inattention, and so they did not appear to fit the model created when researchers observed ADHD in boys.

For girls and women, natural hormone fluctuations can play a role in symptoms and can affect sleep, mood, and thought processes, says clinical psychologist Ellen Littman, PhD. “For many girls, behavioral issues blossom around puberty, as estrogen levels increase,” Dr. Littman writes. Therefore, girls may not show symptoms of hyperactivity until their tween years.

Cultural expectations for boys and girls are another contributing factor, according to Dr. Littman. Many girls internalize their struggles, while boys tend to display their emotions outwardly. Girls will spend years trying to compensate for their symptoms, and the stress of doing so can lead to issues with self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Girls may not receive a diagnosis until they reach adulthood when their responsibilities increase—at home, at work, and in social activities—making their ADHD symptoms unmanageable.

“ADHD symptoms in girls are uniquely associated with virtually every domain of impairment—from academic engagement/learning to friendships with peers, strained family relationships, self-concept, vocational achievement and ultimately, suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” writes researcher Stephen P. Hinshaw, PhD, and colleagues in his annual review of research on girls with ADHD. These widespread effects illustrate the importance of early intervention for girls and women with ADHD.

Women in research

Women researchers have always had a role in developing our understanding of ADHD but have not always been recognized for their contributions. Given that there were fewer women in research and medical sciences, many of these women made their contributions while breaking gender barriers.

Developmental pediatrician Hilda Knobloch, MD, DrPH, helped establish early neurological perspectives on children’s behavioral differences, contributing to the idea that attention and hyperactivity symptoms could have biological and developmental origins. Her work helped move the field toward recognizing ADHD as a legitimate neurodevelopmental condition.

Later medical and behavioral researchers expanded on her work and that of other researchers. Psychologist Virginia I. Douglas, PhD, demonstrated that sustained attention and impulse control—not hyperactivity alone—are central features of ADHD, helping to shape modern diagnostic thinking. Psychiatrist Lily Hechtman, MD, who was inducted into CHADD’s Hall of Fame in 2004, showed through long-term research that ADHD often continues into adolescence and adulthood, reinforcing the need for lifelong support and treatment. Together, these researchers represent just a few of the women whose work helped lay the scientific foundation for today’s understanding of ADHD.

Today, women in science continue to push our knowledge forward. Several serve or have served on CHADD’s professional advisory board, including current members Mary V. Solanto, PhD; Laura E. Knouse, PhD; and Maggie Sibley, PhD; and former members Patricia Quinn, MD; Kathleen Nadeau, PhD; Brooke Molina, PhD; Desiree Weems Murray, PhD; Andrea Chronis-Tuscano, PhD; and U. Diane Buckingham, MD. Ellen Littman, PhD; Margaret Weiss, MD, PhD; and Sandra Kooij, MD, are among many other women in the ADHD field.

Bridging the research gap

“We need more research on girls and women with ADHD so we can create a knowledge base where one is currently lacking,” Dr. Sibley says.

Many women in ADHD research are placing their attention on women and girls to build that knowledge base. Clinicians and practitioners have published numerous studies and books on ADHD research in women and girls and others have pushed to have the information included in medical training. Growing support approaches, including coaching and organizing, have focused on meeting women’s needs to multitask in their lives while coping with ADHD symptoms.

It may be challenging to find a doctor who understands the unique challenges girls with ADHD face because of the lack of information and training previously available. Dr. Sibley recommends that you first talk with your primary care doctor or your daughter’s pediatrician, letting them know that you suspect ADHD may the cause of these difficulties. If the medical professional thinks the question of ADHD needs to be investigated further, she says, they can refer you to a specialist.

As telehealth has become more prevalent and standardized, more options are available for diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Sibley says she is hopeful that better education, research, and greater awareness will help girls with ADHD receive a timelier diagnosis and better treatment options before greater difficulties and health concerns occur.

“We are in a moment that will go down in history as the time when we started to break gender barriers in terms of adequate healthcare for women with ADHD,” Dr. Sibley says. “A lot is changing, a lot is being revealed by research, and a lot of experiences are being shared online. In the next ten years there will be a lot of advances. We will be able to conduct new research and provide training for providers to get women the care they deserve.”

Learn more about ADHD in women and girls:

• Women’s History Month: Women in ADHD, Advancing Research and Care
• Women and Girls with ADHD
• ADHD in Adults at Midlife
• Why ADHD Is More Challenging for Women
• Principles for Parenting a Girl with ADHD
• The Gender Myths (Or, Only Boys Have ADHD)
• A Focus on Empowering Girls
• Does Menopause Cause ADHD?
• Podcast: How Hormones Affect ADHD in Women
• Gender Myths & ADHD