Understanding Girls with ADHD: How they feel and why they do what they do

By Kathleen G. Nadeau and Patricia O. Quinn

Book Overview

First written in 1999, the new edition of Understanding Girls with ADHD is better than ever. In this expanded and updated book, Kathleen Nadeau, Ellen Littman, and Patricia Quinn rise to the occasion and deliver a comprehensive, up-to-date, and readable book that illuminates the complexity of ADHD in girls and women, both across the lifespan and across multiple domains of life (e.g., home, school, the workplace, close relationships). Blending clinical examples, case material, and a masterful synthesis of research findings around the world, the authors reveal the roots of ADHD in females during the preschool years, also summarizing relevant causal factors, and display the highly individualized journeys through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood that these girls and women face. The book's latter chapters make use of the information on ADHD and development and provide a synthesis of the kinds of treatment strategies needed to intervene with the complex issues faced by girls and families who struggle with ADHD. The authors' working through the executive functioning deficits experienced by so many girls with ADHD―and their deployment of vivid examples of right vs. wrong ways of approaching such problems―will be of great importance for large numbers of families. Even more, the authors emphasize that ADHD rarely exists in a vacuum and that understanding and treating co-morbid disorders is essential. Understanding Girls with ADHD does not shy away from key areas of controversy. How, for example, can a family know whether it's ADHD or another set of problems that's the primary issue? How does one deal with the potential use of medication, which is plagued by bad press and abundant myths but which can, as part of a multi-faceted treatment plan, provide great benefit if the right dose is found and if the doctor works with the family to monitor positive effects and side effects carefully? What about longterm risk for eating pathology, substance abuse, and other difficult areas of impairment of salience for girls? How can girls and their families break through the thicket of negative expectations and sometimes-toxic family interactions to pave the way for a different set of outcomes? Clearly, ADHD does not look the same across different individuals, especially girls. Understanding Girls with ADHD emphasizes the multiple ways in which ADHD can manifest itself across different people, families, and ages. Always sensitive, and without hesitation in providing an authoritative tone, this book will empower girls and their families in ways that are sorely needed. Its emphasis on gender-specific manifestations of ADHD and its inclusion of practical means of attacking the executive-function deficits that plague girls and women with ADHD will ensure its continued status as core guidebook. Written with compassion and sensitivity, and full of the clinical wisdom that accompanies years of experience on the front lines, Understanding Girls with ADHD is the go-to book for those needing guidance, support, and knowledge about female manifestations of ADHD.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971460973
• ISBN13: 9780971460973
• Release Date: May 2015
• Publisher: Advantage Books, LLC
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent overview of the issues faced by girls with AD/HD

Understanding Girls with AD/HD, Nadeau, Littman and Quinn This book discusses how attention deficit disorder may manifest itself in girls from preschool to late adolescence. The authors identify types of ADHD girls. Active girls may act like tomboys. They may socialize with boys. They are active, and may engage in impulsive escapades. Another group of girls shows their ADHD by talkativeness and excessive socializing. They too may become involved in risky behavior. Some girls with ADHD seem to fade into the background. They are shy and inattentive. They may have few friends and are more likely to be depressed. The last group is often escapes diagnosis until adolescence or adulthood. These are the very smart girls who have the ability to put in an extraordinary effort to hyper-focus. Adults see them as achievers but are often unaware of the anxiety and extreme effort the such girls use in order to compensate for their inattentiveness. Such girls are often anxious and self-critical. This is an excellent resource for parents and adolescents. I have only one criticism. The screening checklists in each chapter are fairly non-specific. The lists highlight the fact that ADHD may manifest itself differently in girls. However, some of the items on the lists can be caused by other conditions.  Carol E. Watkins, M.D. Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist

Help with understanding your daughter and her ADHD

This is really a great book directed at the issues surrounding girls. Most books are written from research done with boys, and girls do have different concerns and show different signs of ADHD. For instance, they seem to be moodier, and more easily brought to tears. (At least this is true in my household between my son and daughter who both unfortunately have ADHD). This book addresses how to answer some of our questions that I have not found elsewhere. I think this book is a must for families who have girls with this disorder. It also has pointers to teachers. I recommend it.

A super useful book!

As the mother of an 8-year-old ADHD girl, I can't recommend this book enough. It has been totally invaluable in learning to understand and love her (and all her quirks - like chewing on her hair and clothes -- who would have thought that was ADHD related? ) Furthermore, in addition to very valuable and practical information I can use now for her while she is in elementary school, there are sections that I know I will come back to (or read to anticipate) what will go on as she grows older. I think of this book as the "what to expect when you are expecting" book for living with ADHD girls! This is a great book and I, for one, am very grateful that the authors have written this.

One of the best overviews out there

As the father of two girls who some might label as "having ADD," I found this book both enlightening and reassuring. As a psychotherapist who writes and works in the field of ADHD, I found it solid, well-informed, and useful. Highly recommended...