Who Has ADHD?
General Stereotypes:
-Unable to sit still
-Unable to follow instructions
-Disruptive in the classroom
-No control over emotions (often anger)
-No interest in social activities
-Bad grades
-A BOY'S disease
-A CHILD's disease
These stereotypes are the reason that ADHD is often diagnosed in large numbers and that many children who may need treatment for their symptoms are not receiving it because they do not "fit" into the traditional stereotype of ADHD.
For example, girls with ADHD tend to be more inattentive and quiet, not disrupting the class but not focusing and learning to the best of her capabilities. This often goes undetected by teachers, parents, and doctors alike because the symptoms do not suggest a traditional ADHD candidate.
In my dataset, 36% of my sources mentioned a difference in ADHD between boys and girls. While this may seem like a high amount, it is astonishing to me that all of the sources did not mention the differences in symptoms because they are so variant across genders.
ADHD is often characterized as a child's disease as well. All of my data sources discussed ADHD as a disease of a child and few mentioned adult ADHD. 36% mentioned adulthood ADHD which is interesting to me because ADHD is not something that is simply outgrown and children with ADHD grow up to be adults with the disorder. I think the common misconception that ADHD is a child's disease may hinder the abilities of adults with the disorder or ADHD-like symptoms to seek treatment because they feel they are too old to be dealing with it.
