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Could My Daughter Be ADD? Assessing Attention

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My ten-year-old daughter often has trouble following multistep directions-will lose her place in reading and need to re-read, will say “huh?” or “what?” after being given directions, blurts things off topic, has a difficulty staying engaged during lessons, and shows inconsistencies in academic performance. This mom asked, “Could she be ADD?”

These ADHD, Inattentive Presentation warning signs (This is what we used to call ADD) showed a valid concern and lead her to trust her instincts and seek out professional help in understanding her child.  She felt like her daughter might being manipulative but yet she did not want to scold her for something that she might not always be able to control. Mom also wanted to understand treatment options if it was ADHD, Inattentive Presentation.

Assessing Attention

Our school neuropsychological evaluation tested many key areas of attention including her sustained attention, attention capacity, impulse control, flexible thinking, and processing speed. The child also completed a self-esteem assessment to gain understanding about how she felt about herself. Emotional health is important for reaching one’s potential.

First Factor

The assessing attention results revealed two factors which contributed to her challenges. First, she had slow processing speed. This helped explained her “huh” types of behaviors. She must put in lots of mental effort when learning new content. This drained her mental energy and contributed to her difficulty maintain attention. Once her mental fuel was used, she tuned out, disengaged from learning and showed avoidance behaviors.

Second Factor

The second factor was indeed a deficit in sustained attention. This was validated through interactive tests of attention, a computerized test of attention, and by having others complete behavioral rating scales.  We discussed the different treatment options, and this mom decided to first work on increasing her underlying processing speed prior to considering other treatments. This mom also planned to share the results with her school to give understanding and obtain accommodations.

Need to Talk?

Call 561.625.4125 if you would like to discuss your child and your concerns for possible dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or anxiety.

ADHD Looks Different in Girls

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ADHD looks different in girls as compared to boys. Savannah explained, “My 13-year-old daughter’s a wreck at home. She is disorganized, argumentative and has trouble accomplishing day to day tasks on her own and following a routine.  However, at school and sports she is very driven and motivated, is very personable, and has strong verbal skills. Help me understand her!”  My school neuropsychological testing revealed Savannah’s daughter had ADHD.

ADHD Looks Different in Girls: Three Differences

Three key differences are that ADHD in girls is often under diagnosed or misdiagnosed because they are more likely to have inattention symptoms rather than hyperactivity. In elementary years boys are diagnosed at a 4 boys to 1 girl ratio but by adulthood, that evens out to a 1:1 ratio as more girls self-refer for testing.  Second, girls show more internalized symptoms like anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem, which can be mistaken for other conditions. Third, girls are really good at masking or hiding their symptoms which makes ADHD harder to recognize.

Savannah’s daughter had significant emotional dysregulation which came out in her mood swings.  She experienced frequent emotional ups and downs and struggled with frustration which made her irritable and sensitive. This led to arguments if things were not going her way.  My testing also revealed she had difficulty with friendships.  Her emotional dysregulation struggles affected her ability to maintain stable friendships. She had teammates but no one really close friend.

Early Support is Key

Early recognition and appropriate support can help girls learn to manage these challenges effectively. Consider getting yourself or your child tested if you are concerned about ADHD or struggle with difficulty focusing, forgetfulness, zoning out, trouble with organizing, impulsive decision making, or emotional dysregulation.

A great self-help resource is “Raising Girls with ADHD” by Mary Anne Richey.  We test students from age two through college for ADHD, dyslexia, anxiety, depression autism, and more. Call us at (561) 625 4125 to discuss your needs.

ADD & ADHD Girls Help

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ADHD Girls

If your daughter has ADHD or your suspect she might have ADHD/ ADD, I hope you’ve found my book, Raising Girls with ADHD: Secrets for Parenting Healthy, Happy Daughters published by Prufrock Press.  In the book my coauthor and I outline why ADHD is different in girls as compared to boys.  We stress a proactive approach for helping ADHD girls because girls are at a much higher risk for emotional problems than boys so early detection and support is important.

One key feature in the Raising Girls with ADHD book is the dynamic action plan.  We created this and have used it with clients to help guide a girl’s future.  Have you ever felt like you’ve been trying so many different things to help but none have made a meaningful difference?  If yes, you are not alone.  This is a frequent feeling that many parents have when they come work with me and my team.  I have a parent specialist who will sit with you, listen to your concerns, and then help guide you using the Dynamic Action Plan.  Wouldn’t it feel good to have direction and confirmation?

This process is billed at an hourly rate and typically takes about two hours, costing under 300.  In addition to the initial planning, we can come along side you and your family and provide ongoing guidance from once or twice a week or customize a plan to help your and your daughter.  One thing we’ve learned over the years of doing this is that the time and money you invest in this proactive way helps prevent potentially serious future emotional problems.  We discuss this in the Raising Girls with ADHD book because it’s well documented in research that girls with ADHD Combined Type have a much higher likelihood of having co-occurring issues ranging from self-esteem to self-harm.

If you have a girl with ADHD/ ADD, reach out to my office.  We have staff ready to help you today. (561) 625 4125

Girls With ADHD Are Different From Boys With ADHD

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Girls With ADHD/ADD

The majority of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) are boys.  Boys are generally identified more frequently than girls are because they are more active, always on the go, and demonstrate acting-out behavior more noticeable than girls.  Girls are often overlooked because they are quieter, are taught to conform, and are less likely to demonstrate acting out behavior.  Signals that your daughter may have ADHD or underlying problems include school phobia, low self-esteem, poor organizational skills, messiness, sleep problems, high intelligence and creativity with low academic performance, and messy appearance.

One Girl With ADHD

I recently worked with a family that was concerned about their daughter because she was very forgetful, her grades were slipping, and she was not feeling good about herself.  We worked together to do a comprehensive school neuropsychological evaluation and determined that there was inattentive type ADHD (ADD) as well as some processing difficulties that were making learning much harder.  This girl was very intelligent so she had been able to get by on her intelligence but the academic demands of middle school finally caught up with her and she became overwhelmed.  Before coming to me, her parents thought she just was not trying and was getting lazy but it turned out she really had legitimate needs.

You Suspect Your Daughter has ADD/ADHD

If your daughter is struggling and you are unsure if there are underlying problems, consider these important questions: (1) Are these behaviors things you have noticed for a while?  Are they interfering with life functioning at home or at school?,(2) Are the behaviors a continuous problem, not just a response to a temporary situation like final exams or a teacher conflict? (3) Do the behaviors occur in several settings or only in one specific place like the home or in school?  If you answered ‘yes’ to most of these questions, my evaluation may help you and your daughter.  I give parents strategies to use at home and in school that can help your daughter.

When you are ready to help your daughter call me or fill out my contact form.