Girls with autism or ADHD symptoms not taken seriously

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Girls with autism or ADHD symptoms not taken seriously

October 4, 2010

When girls with symptoms of autism or ADHD seek professional medical help, their

problems are often played down or misinterpreted, and there is a real risk that

they will not get the help or support they need. As such, more training is

needed in this area,

particularly in the public sector, reveals a thesis from the University of

Gothenburg.

The thesis focuses primarily on 100 girls who, before reaching adulthood, went

to the doctor on account of difficulties with social interaction and/or

concentration at school or elsewhere. They were then referred to the paediatric

neuropsychiatric clinic at Sahlgrenska University Hospital between 1999 and

2001.

" We could see that their parents had been concerned about the girls' behaviour

or development during their first few years of life, " says Svenny Kopp, a

doctoral student at the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology at the

Sahlgrenska Academy, and consultant paediatric psychiatrist at the Queen Silvia

Children's Hospital. " They had also asked for help at an early stage, but hadn't

been given a proper diagnosis. "

When subsequently given a thorough psychiatric and psychological examination,

nearly half of the girls proved to have autism or other autism spectrum

disorders, and just as many

had ADHD as their main diagnosis. Compared with the control group of 60 girls

without any known serious problems, the 100 girls' performance was severely

impaired in all areas

studied, including psychological, motor and social function.

It also emerged that the girls with autism and ADHD had additional psychiatric

and developmental neurological disorders. For example, anxiety, depression,

social behaviour

disorders and difficulties reading and writing were common in both groups. Half

of the girls with autism spectrum disorders or ADHD had been bullied, were

frequently truant and avoided sport at school. The study also showed that girls

with ADHD smoked more

frequently and more overall than the control group.

" The results are particularly disturbing given that these girls did not

generally have a disadvantaged social background and were mostly of normal

intelligence, " says Kopp.

She concludes that the healthcare system does not take girls with symptoms of

autism or ADHD seriously enough. " It's a shame as we now have effective

treatments for both autism

and ADHD. We therefore need more training across the public sector on girls with

mental problems, social interaction difficulties and/or attention problems, " she

stresses.

More information: References:

Journal: Journal of Attention Disorders, 2010 Sept; 14(2):167-81.

Authors: Kopp, S., Berg-, K., and Gillberg, C. (in press).

Title: Girls with social and/or attention deficits: a descriptive study of 100

clinic attenders.

VIEW ARTICLE: http://www.ncbi.nl … nih.gov/site

/entrez?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=19541882

Journal: Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31, 350-361.

Authors: Kopp, S., Beckung, E., and Gillberg, C. (2010).

Title: Developmental coordination disorder and other motor control problems in

girls with autism spectrum disorders and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity

disorder.

VIEW ARTICLE: http://www.ncbi.nl … ids=19910158

Provided by University of Gothenburg