ADHD in Gifted Girls: Five Things You Need to Know

1. ADHD in girls is often overlooked—and underdiagnosed—because it looks different.

“ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is diagnosed in approximately eight percent of girls as opposed to almost fifteen percent of boys” (Busi, 2026, para. 2).

Pause. Close your eyes and take ten seconds to picture what you imagine ADHD to look like. You might be picturing a hyperactive boy who disrupts classroom discussions, impulsively grabs things out of classmates’ hands, and can’t wait his turn or stay in line (Busi, 2026, para. 3). Since these symptoms are statistically more obvious in boys, they are far more likely to receive prompt and comprehensive care.

In the majority of girls diagnosed with ADHD, the primary symptoms are quiet and inattentive. This leads to a lack of—or late—response and action.

2. Giftedness can hide ADHD.

We often say that our gifted, twice-exceptional students ask the best questions—and there’s a reason for that! When gifted learners are given the space for deep questions and exploration in their academics, they are given their best chance to succeed.

Conversely, traditional learning methodologies that emphasize repetitive drills or material they have already mastered can feel tedious, making sustained attention even harder for a gifted girl with ADHD (Busi, 2026, para. 7).

“Gifted learners are big picture thinkers—they have a conceptually advanced understanding of material and ask big questions to understand. [...] Gifted educational classrooms utilize ‘curriculum compacting’, a technique that replaces this ‘busy work’ with more material enriched with depth and complexity” (Busi, 2026, para. 7).

3. Masking works temporarily—but at a cost.

Masking is when an individual hides or adapts an aspect of themself to fit into societal norms and expectations. This can appear to be a successful approach, but long-term, this can be detrimental to the psychological development of girls with ADHD.

“Paradoxically, the more ‘successful’ neurodiverse girls are at masking, the greater their risk of entering a cycle of self-doubt and social anxiety over time. Declining self-esteem can eventually give rise to full-blown anxiety or depressive disorders—outcomes that might have been prevented had the underlying ADHD been identified earlier” (Busi, 2026, para. 6).

4. Perfectionism is a clear sign—and one of the greatest challenges.

One of the gifts of a gifted child is that scholastic concepts, theories, and excellence tend to come easily. When the pattern of ease and excellence wavers, a new challenge arises: an intense fear of failure.

“This ‘not meeting expectations’ (in this case, their own) in the face of their intolerance of imperfection leads to an even larger burden when faced with challenges that come with ADHD” (Busi, 2026, para. 9).

5. It doesn’t have to be this way.

In the past few years, we have seen an increasing acknowledgement of ADHD in girls and how we can increase and improve diagnostic and intervention strategies.

“As there is more awareness, there will hopefully be a higher index of suspicion and a lower threshold for the evaluation and diagnosis of ADHD in girls. The impact on the academic success, quality of life, and overall health and outcomes for these students cannot be overstated” (Busi, 2026, para. 10).

At The Quad Preparatory School, we fit ourselves to the child rather than the other way around. We see through to the potential of a gifted child—with ADHD and/or other neurodiversities—and bolster their strengths while supporting their areas of challenge. 

If you have a twice-exceptional child, and would like to learn more, reach out to admissions@quadprep.org. We’d love to talk with you!