TPP 355: Dr. Sharon Saline on Understanding and Working with ADHD in Girls

You may have heard about the “lost generation of autistic women,” which refers to those women whose diagnoses were missed when they were younger because of the male gender bias in the diagnostic criteria. But that phenomenon doesn’t just apply to autism – the same thing goes for girls and ADHD. There’s actually been a lot written about this in recent years, including a popular 2020 article in The Guardian called The Lost Girls: Chaotic and Curious, Women with ADHD All Have Missed Red Flags That Haunt Us.

It’s true that the stereotype of a kid with ADHD is that energetic, impulsive, disorganized boy. But in girls especially it can also look like perfectionism and having a hard time receiving feedback, forgetfulness, misreading social cues and struggling with friendships, drifting off, and inconsistency in schoolwork. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about why ADHD in girls often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, what kind of ineffective coping strategies girls with ADHD may to hide their struggles, and what some of the early symptoms are and how to recognize them. We also talked about the challenges of how rejection sensitive dysphoria, which co-occurs in many people with ADHD, may impact girls, and ADHD burnout.

About Dr. Sharon Saline

Sharon Saline, Psy.D., clinical psychologist and author of the award-winning book, What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life and The ADHD solution card deck specializes in working with children, teens, adults and families living with ADHD, learning disabilities, twice exceptionality and mental health issues. With decades of experience as a clinical psychologist and educator/clinician consultant, she guides educators, clinicians, families and adults towards effective communication, closer connections and greater understanding. She lectures and facilitates workshops internationally on topics such as ADHD and neurodivergence, executive functioning, the anxiety spectrum, motivation, perfectionism and working with different kinds of learners. 

Things you’ll learn:

• Why ADHD in girls often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed due to the different ways it presents compared to boys
• How girls with ADHD may exhibit symptoms such as anxiety, depression, forgetfulness, difficulty listening, and problems with social interactions
• Why girls with ADHD may develop ineffective coping strategies to hide their struggles, leading to challenges in school, relationships, and emotional regulation
• Why early diagnosis and support is crucial for girls with ADHD to help them succeed academically, socially, and emotionally
• The ways in which RSD (rejection sensitive dysphoria) can complicated social struggles for ADHD girls

Resources mentioned:

• Dr. Sharon Saline’s website
• Sharon’s YouTube Channel
• Sharon on Instagram
• Sharon Facebook
• What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids in School and Life by Dr. Sharon Saline
• The ADHD Solution Card Deck: 50 Strategies to Help Kids Learn, Reduce Stress & Improve Family Connections (created by Dr. Sharon Saline)
• Sharon Saline on What Our ADHD Kids Wish We Knew (Tilt Parenting Podcast)
• Dr. Megan Anna Neff on RSD (Neurodivergent Insights)
• Sharon Saline on RSD (Additude Today)
• Dr. Donna Henderson and Dr. Sarah Wayland on Their Book Is This Autism? (Tilt Parenting Podcast)
• Is This Autism? A Guide for Clinicians and Everyone Else by Dr. Donna Henderson and Dr. Sarah Wayland
• The Lost Girls: Chaotic and Curious, Women with ADHD All Have Missed Red Flags That Haunt Us (The Guardian)

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