ADHD in women

Why ADHD is often missed in women and girls

For a long time, ADHD was pictured as a hyperactive young boy who couldn't sit still. Girls and women more often have the inattentive side of ADHD: drifting off, losing track, forgetting, and feeling overwhelmed. This is quieter and easier for teachers, parents and doctors to overlook.

Many women also learn to mask or compensate. They work twice as hard, make endless lists, over-prepare, or copy how others behave so they fit in. From the outside things can look fine, while on the inside it's exhausting.

It's common for the signs to show up more clearly when life gets busier: university, a demanding job, becoming a parent, or juggling a household, when the old coping strategies stop being enough.

Signs that can point to ADHD

Everyone has some of these sometimes. With ADHD, they've been there since childhood, happen a lot, and cause real problems in more than one part of life.

• Finding it hard to start, organise or finish tasks, especially boring ones
• Losing things, forgetting appointments or replying to messages days later
• A busy, racing mind, or daydreaming and losing the thread of conversations
• Being very focused on things that interest you, and struggling with everything else
• Feeling restless inside, fidgeting, or talking a lot or interrupting
• Strong emotions that come on quickly, and taking criticism very hard
• Last-minute rushes, missed deadlines and feeling constantly behind
• Feeling exhausted from "holding it all together"

ADHD, anxiety and depression

Women with ADHD are often treated for anxiety or depression first. Sometimes that's because they have both. Sometimes the anxiety or low mood is partly a result of living with ADHD that hasn't been recognised. A good assessment looks at all of this, rather than just ticking off a checklist. Read more in ADHD or anxiety?

Hormones and ADHD

Many women say their ADHD symptoms feel worse at certain points in their menstrual cycle, after having a baby, or around perimenopause and menopause. Research in this area is still developing, but if you notice a pattern, it's worth keeping a simple diary and mentioning it to your GP and at your assessment.

Getting assessed as an adult

It's never too late to be assessed. An adult assessment looks at your life now and when you were growing up. It should follow the national guideline, NICE NG87, and use more than one kind of evidence.

At ADHD Assessments Hull, that means online questionnaires (including a short one for someone who knew you as a child), the QbCheck computer test, and a clinical interview with a specialist clinician. See how the assessment works.

Source: NICE guideline NG87, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management. Last updated October 2026.