Pop quiz: what’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “ADHD”?
a. Getting distracted
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b. Ants-in-pants
c. Elementary school boys
d. Women and girls
Most likely, you didn’t pick D.
If that’s the case, you’re not alone. For most people, ADHD conjures a mental image of school-aged boys squirming at desks or bouncing off walls, not a picture of adults, girls, or especially adult women. Both scientists and society have long pinned ADHD on males, even though girls and women may be just as likely to suffer from this neurodevelopmental disorder.
Back in 1987, the American Psychiatric Association stated that the male to female ratio for ADHD was 9 to 1. Twenty years later, however, an epidemiological study of almost 4,000 kids found the ratio was more like 1 to 1—half girls, half boys.