At age 23, Rach Idowu was convinced she had dementia. She found herself forgetting birthdays, missing work meetings, and struggling to manage her credit card debt. Her Google searches suggested that she had early onset dementia, which her doctor quickly dismissed. It would take her another four years and the assessments of two psychiatrists before Idowu was finally diagnosed with ADHD.
Suddenly, everything in her life began to make sense: her constant fidgeting as a child, the caffeine-fueled all-nighters she spent finishing school assignments, and the weeks it took to answer messages from friends. “It was a massive eureka moment,” Idowu, now 31, says. She is one of millions of women diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number has continued to rise in recent years. Researchers attribute the increase to multiple factors, including greater public awareness, the expansion of telehealth, and the historical underdiagnosis of ADHD in women. The topic has become pretty popular on social media, which has prompted some psychologists to worry that there might be potential for overdiagnosis or people misdiagnosing themselves. A recent national survey by researchers at Ohio State University found 25 percent of adults now suspect they may have ADHD.
(Scientists are finally studying women’s bodies. This is what we’re learning.)
Part of the issue may be that people with ADHD typically fall into one of three categories: hyperactive, inattentive, or combined. Girls and women are more likely to have the inattentive presentation, characterized by disorganization, forgetfulness, and struggles with starting and staying on task. “They’re more likely to be seen as daydreamers or lost in the clouds,” says Julia Schechter, co-director of the Duke Center for Girls and Women With ADHD at the Duke University School of Medicine.
Even girls with hyperactive or combined diagnoses may display their symptoms differently than boys, such as talking excessively, twirling their hair, constantly shaking their legs, or reacting emotionally. “Their symptoms are just as impairing,” Schechter says, “but can fly under the radar.”
