ADHD is often undiagnosed within women as it is wrongly viewed as a predominantly male issue. It is also associated with children rather than adults. Therefore, far too many adult women are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with mood disorders instead. 

However, ADHD impacts both genders equally, but outdated stereotypes leave too many women feeling hopeless, lazy, dumb, or depressed with no diagnosis. ADHD often looks different in girls or women. Unfortunately, many clinicians may still not recognize and accurately diagnose their ADHD because of this which causes a huge barrier to effective treatment.

The latest research suggests that ADHD in women causes even greater emotional turmoil. Despite widespread improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, some professionals still may harbor the belief that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is something that primarily affects boys and men — not girls and women.

Consequently, women and girls with ADHD are still more likely than men to go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, and less likely to receive appropriate treatment. We need to normalise the fact that women and girls do indeed suffer from ADHD. More screening and acknowledgement of this condition needs to be put in place rather than healthcare professionals not even thinking that this could be the issue when it comes to a woman or girl.