The Manhattan Adult ADD Support Group We Offer Support


	The Manhattan Adult ADD Support Group We Offer Support & Information To Adults In NYC And The Surrounding Communities With ADD/ADHD We Are Not "Lazy, Crazy, Or Stupid"


ADD IN THE NEWS

Sacramento Bee, 4/30/06 MORE WOMEN SEEK HELP FOR ATTENTION DISORDERS by Dorsey Griffith The term "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder" conjures up a boy who can't sit still to tie his shoes or read a book without a dose of stimulant medication. While boys are the group most likely diagnosed and treated for ADHD, another demographic is rapidly gaining ground: women. Among them are stay-at-home moms, female professionals and students who are taking their symptoms to their doctors' offices and going home with the same stimulant drugs at unprecedented rates. Why women are rapidly falling into the growing ADHD-diagnosed population is not clear. Some argue the trend reflects a heightened awareness among women of long-ignored symptoms and doctors' willingness to treat them. Others say it represents the "medicalization," or psychiatric labeling, of an otherwise normal condition that results from living in a society where women are overworked, overbooked and overwhelmed. Data show trend National data document the trend. An analysis of federal medical data requested by The Bee found that an estimated 731,000 women 15 to 24 were diagnosed with the disorder in 2003 and 2004, nearly triple that of the years 1999 and 2000. The increase is not confined to young women. For the first time, women of all ages are showing up in the statistics. In 2003 and 2004, an estimated 534,000 women 25 to 44, and 337,000 women 45 to 64 were diagnosed with the disorder, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These figures could not be compared with prior years because there were too few cases during 1999 and 2000 to report, a federal analyst said. "Reaching parity and equality" The increase in diagnoses is a sign that women now recognize that their problems can and should be addressed from a medical perspective, and that physicians are responding to their calls for help, said Dr. Patricia Quinn, a developmental pediatrician and director of the National Center for Gender Issues and AD/HD in Washington, D.C. "Finally, we are reaching parity and equality," she said. Quinn believes that ADHD, and its related malady, attention deficit disorder, occur at the same rates in boys and girls, men and women. But because girls typically have different symptoms -- inattentiveness but not hyperactivity -- they often can be overlooked. Problems for girls with ADD can surface in childhood, but often don't become unmanageable until they leave the structure of home and parental support, Quinn said. "Trying to be Superwoman?" Dr. Lawrence Diller, a San Francisco developmental pediatrician and author of the book "Running on Ritalin," said the mothers of his pediatric patients often seek his advice after recognizing in themselves the same kinds of attention problems their children have. Most of the women work outside of the home and still take charge of child-rearing and household maintenance. "Is she truly disorganized and can't follow through?" Diller said he asks himself. "Or is she simply trying to be Superwoman?" Quinn has seen the same thing in her practice, but because ADHD can run in families, she assumes the mothers may need medical care, too. "I always tell moms, to be able to fully help your child, get your own ADD help first, then we can deal with the issues," she said. "We add to the dysfunction unless Mom gets treated."

Home Page \| Preceding Article > \| Mailing List \| Contact Us