Understanding attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has come a long way since its early description as a moral and behavioral deficit. ADHD has various subtypes, each with comorbid disabilities. Despite these advances, gaps remain in identifying and understanding girls with ADHD, especially when they have the inattentive-type ADHD. This article synthesizes what is known about girls with ADHD, and it is directed toward teachers, counselors, and psychologists who work with girls in school settings. To accomplish this goal, ADHD is examined with a low-resolution lens, then from two higher resolution lenses. The low-resolution lens uses identification criteria per the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. The first high-resolution lens looks at how girls with ADHD differ from boys with ADHD; the second high-resolution lens looks at how girls with ADHD differ from their nonidentified female peers. A case is made for using the two finer-grained lenses to identify and intervene with girls.
Abikoff, H.B., Jensen, P.S., Eugene, L.L., Hoza, B., Hetchman, L., Pollack, S., et al. (2002). Observed classroom behavior of children with ADHD: Relationship to gender and comorbidity. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30(4), 349-359.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
Arnold, L.S. (1996). Sex differences in ADHD: Conference summary. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 24, 555-569.
4.
Arnold, L.S.,Abikoff, H.B., Cantwell, D.P., Conners, C.K., Elliott, G.R., Greenhill, L.L., et al. (1997). NIMH collaborative multimodal treatment study of children with ADHD (MTA): Design challenges and choices. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 865-870.
5.
Barkley, R.A. (1998). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment. New York: Guilford.
6.
Barkley, R.A. (2001). The executive functions and self-regulation: An evolutionary neuropsychological perspective. Neuropsychology Review, 11, 1-29.
7.
Berry, C.A., Shaywitz, S.E., & Shaywitz, B.A. (1985). Girls with attention deficit disorder: A silent minority? Pediatrics, 76, 801-809.
8.
Blachman, D.R., & Hinshaw, S.P. (2005). Patterns of friendship among girls with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30(6), 625-640.
9.
Brown, L.M., & Gilligan, C. (1992). Meeting at the crossroads. New York: Ballantine.
10.
Burks, H. (1960). The hyperkinetic child. Exceptional Children, 27, 18.
11.
de Ramirez, R.D., & Shapiro, E.S. (2005). Effects of student ethnicity on judgments of ADHD symptoms among Hispanic and White teachers. School Psychology Quarterly, 20(3), 268-287.
12.
Douglas, V.I. (1972). Stop, look, and listen: The problem of sustained attention and impulse control in hyperactive and normal children. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 4, 259-282.
13.
DuPaul, G.J., & Stoner, G. (2003). ADHD in the schools: Assessment and intervention strategies. New York: Guilford.
14.
Forness, S.R., & Kavale, K.A. (2001). ADHD and a return to the medical model of special education. Education and Treatment of Children, 24(3), 224-247.
15.
Gaub, M., & Carlson, C.I. (1997). Gender differences in ADHD: A meta-analysis and critical review. Journal of the American Academy of Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(8), 1036-1045.
16.
Gershon, J. (2002). A meta-analytic review of gender differences in ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 5, 143-154.
17.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
18.
Hale, J.B., & Fiorello, C.A. (2004). School neuropsychology: A practitioner's handbook. New York: Guilford.
19.
Hinshaw, S.P. (2002). Preadolescent girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: I. Background characteristics, comorbidity, cognitive, and social functioning, and parenting practices. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 1086-1098.
20.
Hinshaw, S.P., Owens, E.B., Sami, N., & Fargeon, S. (2006). Prospective follow-up of girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder into adolescence: Evidence for continuing cross-domain impairment . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(3), 489-499.
21.
Lahey, B.B., Pelham, W.E., Loney, J., Kipp, H., Earhardt, A., Lee, S.S., et al. (2004). Three-year predictive validity of DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children at 4-6 years of age. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1673-1685.
22.
Marshall, R.M., Hynd, G.G., Handwerk, M.J., & Hall, J. (1997). Academic underachievement in ADHD subtypes. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30, 635-642.
23.
McBurnett, K., Pfiffner, L.J., & Frick, P.J. (2001). Symptom properties as a function of ADHD type: An argument for continued study of sluggish cognitive tempo. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 207-213.
24.
Ohan, J.L., & Johnton, C. (2005). Gender appropriateness of symptom criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositionaldefiant disorder, and conduct disorder. Child Psychology and Human Development, 35(4), 359-381.
25.
Redden, S.C., Forness, S.R., Ramey, C.T., Ramey, S.L., Brezausek, C.M., & Kavale, K.A. (2003). Head Start children with a putative diagnosis of ADHD: A four-year follow-up of special education placement. Education and Treatment of Children, 26(3), 208-223.
26.
Strauss, A.A., & Lehtinen, L.E. (1947). Psychopathology and education of the brain-injured child. New York: Grune & Stratton.
27.
Stryker, S. (1925). Encephalitis lethargica-The behavior residuals . Training School Bulletin, 22, 152-157.
28.
Wheeler, J., & Carlson, C.L. (1994). The social functioning of children with ADD with hyperactivity and ADD without hyperactivity: A comparison of their peer relations and social deficits. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders , 2, 2-12.
29.
Wilens, T., & Biederman, J. (1992). The stimulus. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 15, 191-222.
30.
Wilens, T.E., Biederman, J., & Spencer, T.J. (2002). Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder across the lifespan. Annual Review of Medicine, 53, 113-131.
