I just read an article about ADHD in girls. I never realized how difficult it is to diagnose it in girls. The symptoms for girls are not as prevalent as they are in boys.
http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/LD-ADHD/781-understanding-girls-with-ad-hd-symptoms-and-strategies.gs?page=3
This article begins with a story about a girl and a boy. The boy has been identified with ADHD and worked well with his group while the girl had a hard time. It then goes on to explain that girl has ADHD but no one really knew. As I as reading this back story before it talked about all of the symptoms and I was wondering what I would do if this was my classroom and how I might feel if I didn't know that I should be making these accommodations for this girl. I feel as if there should be a better way to find out for girls like it is for boys so that as teachers we can also help them as well.
I know in my classroom we made so many accommodations for the boy with ADHD and if there was a girl with the same issue, I would want her to have the accommodations she needs as well.
Even reading more through the article I was surprised to find out what these girls go through and are most likely are to suffer from eating disorders and those things. It is a very informative article that I think should be read.
Hi Katie :)
ReplyDeleteThat is very interesting! I did not know that there were different signs and symptoms of identifying whether or not a child was ADHD in terms of gender differences...how interesting! The article does make sense and I thought the following comment is perfect for explaining the best way of dealing with females who have ADHD: "•Group counseling with other girls who have AD/HD. This allows girls to support and learn from each other while improving social skills within a peer group." Have you ever seen these social groups existing for males who have ADHD? I know I have not. I think it would be great to provide all students with this, BUT them identifying that this is whats best for girls as they take their behaviors and attitudes into consideration, is commendable. Very interesting! I'd like to see if there would be like a T-Chart which compared treatments or skills which are different among boys and girls for ADHD. I'll look into that :)