Dr. Kathleen Nadeau is a clinical psychologist and Director of Chesapeake Center for ADHD, Learning & Behavioral Health as well as author of several books on ADHD and girls. She joins Rachel & Steph to talk about the history and trajectory of ADHD and shares how it is not a disorder of childhood. She shares how the DSM diagnostic criteria is derived from boys. She highlights how hyperactivity is not central to ADHD and that the core symptoms have to do with executive functioning stating that, “Executive functioning is heart and soul of ADHD”. ADHD is not a deficit of attention; it's a dysregulated attention system. She talks about the social interactions and impact of social problems on girls with ADHD, why girls get diagnosed when they hit puberty and the link between ADHD and estrogen. She shares how girls with ADHD live with anxiety and embarrassment as they try hard to avoid criticism. Finally she advocates for parental social engineering to mitigate the social impact of ADHD on girls.

Connect with Dr. Kathleen Nadeau: 

Chesapeakeadd.com

Understanding Girls with ADHD

Understanding Women with ADHD

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