When ADHD is mentioned, often the image that springs to mind is a boisterous boy running around and struggling to pay attention to tasks or projects.
But the understanding of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has changed enormously over the past decade.
ADHD is a condition that affects people’s behaviour. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating and may act on impulse.
In recent years, however, more and more women are coming forward seeking diagnosis and assessment. Ken Kilbride, chief executive of ADHD Ireland, says this is a result of these people “falling through the cracks” when they were children.
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“There is a huge challenge with ADHD in women,” he says. “ADHD is primarily genetic, so it’s 50 per cent boys and 50 per cent girls. But in the age where you get the prime age of diagnosis – age 12 – four to five times more boys get diagnosed than girls.”
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This is backed up by the number of prescriptions provided to children in this age group. Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows there are 25,103 prescriptions for ADHD medications provided to boys aged 15 and under, compared with 7,621 for girls in this age group.
Kilbride says this discrepancy is largely down to an “old saying that girls internalise and boys externalise”.
“The boys are bouncing off the walls, not sitting still in the classroom, talking all the time so the teacher can see that,” he says.
“The girls are sitting down the back of the class being quiet, dreamy, staring out the window or being shy. They’re not causing any trouble in the classroom so they’re not getting seen. Girls are constantly falling under the radar.”
But this is beginning to change. The number of prescriptions issued to women and girls for ADHD medication has increased almost 180 per cent between 2020 and 2024, rising from 19,827 to 55,452 last year.
“Women have always fallen through the cracks of ADHD. There are a ton of women coming through saying they’ve been on anxiety and depression medication for years, but it turns out ADHD was the driver of it all,” he says.
An analysis of 50 TikTok videos found that though there were some useful videos, they were the ones that had minimal engagement
Part of this surge in awareness is due to social media, particularly on video-sharing platform TikTok. Here, many people who have recently been diagnosed with the condition share what behaviours they have that led them to seek an assessment.
When members of the public view these videos, some of the behaviours resonate with them, resulting in these individuals also seeking a diagnosis.
Increasing awareness of conditions is positive, particularly given waiting lists for an ADHD assessment can be long and people can struggle to understand why they’re feeling or behaving the way they are.
On the other hand, there is little to no regulation of inaccurate content being shared on social media platforms, and many of these videos are being created by people with no qualifications or expertise.
Analysis published in Australasian Psychiatry, a bimonthly journal of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, found 92 per cent of videos on TikTok tagged with #adhdtest contained misleading information.
The analysis of the 50 videos found that though there were some useful videos, they were the ones that had minimal engagement, with only 4 per cent of the total likes, 1 per cent of the total comments, and 7 per cent of the total favourites.
It is a new world for ADHD, with increasing awareness of the condition. However, while a proportion of the surge can be attributed to underdiagnosing of women for decades, those working in the sector stress the importance of not allowing social media to spark concern about potential diagnoses without seeing a qualified health professional.
