Several studies in recent years have looked into the impact of ADHD on the lives of teenagegirls. MRI studies report that teenager’s brains are rapidly maturing, but that they are not fullymature until the early 20’s in females, and perhaps the early 30’s in males. Long-term studieson behavior and emotional health report that girls with ADHD may struggle through the teenyears. And other studies report that depression is common among teens with ADHD, and is socommon among adolescents that the use of medications for ADHD, antidepressants, anti-psychotics, and even sleep medications, is up sharply with adolescent girls.While many children and teens with ADHD also suffer from some degree of sadness,discouragement, or frustration, as many as 25% are clinically depressed. Children and teenswith ADHD are as much as 300% more likely to also suffer from depression than are children orteens without ADHD.The co-morbid depression seems little associated with the ADHD symptoms such as inattention,impulsivity, hyperactivity, or academic problems. These problems might result indiscouragement, sadness, or frustration, but not clinical depression.Rather, the depression seems to be most correlated to social awkwardness or interpersonaldifficulties that are often a part of having ADHD. The lack of friendships, the sense of loneliness,or the sense of being a “social outcast” seemed to be behind the depression. And these feelingsare, of course, much stronger in the teenage years.In girls who were diagnosed with ADHD, and were followed by long-term studies through theyears, it was observed that as they moved from childhood to adolescence their “outward”symptoms of ADHD, such as hyperactivity and impulsivity, tended to decrease.We do want to note that most girls with ADHD do not have the symptoms of hyperactivity orimpulsivity. Most girls with ADHD are inattentive, distracted, disorganized, or “space cadets,”which is why girls are so under-diagnosed for ADHD. Girls tend to just sit in the classroom, getdistracted, and do poorly on the tests. But they don’t cause trouble in the classroom so theydon’t get the attention that might lead to a diagnosis and treatment.But for those girls were did have the symptoms of hyperactivity orimpulsivity, and had been diagnosed as children, their “outward”symptoms tended to decrease as they reached the teenage years.However, as these girls reached the teenage years, it was notedthat their academic performance continued to be a problem, andthat the academic gap between them and their non-ADHD peerscontinued to widen with each passing year.These researchers also noted that, while some girls with ADHDactually “out-grew it” as they reached adolescence, for the most partthe girls not only continued to suffer from it but many began to getinto serious trouble. Both behavioral and emotional problems beganto emerge in many of these girls, and the need for specializedtreatment greatly increased.
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