School fails quiet girls

THOUSANDS of girls with a serious behavioural disorder are not being detected in schools and treated properly because they don't disrupt the class like boys.

THOUSANDS of girls with a serious behavioural disorder are not being detected in schools and treated properly because they don't disrupt the class like boys.

Education consultant Dr Ian Lillico said three in four girls who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are slipping through the net because they don't show the hyperactivity component.

"Most girls are not picked up. Boys show hyperactivity very early in school but a girl who ADHD or ADD will be the quiet kid sitting up the back and their parents will think she just has low self-esteem," he said.

Boys outnumber girls six to one with ADHD but Dr Lillico believes it is probably more like three to one in real terms.

The symptoms of ADD and ADHD include inattention and distractibility and/or hyperactive and impulsive behaviours.

"Three-quarters of girls are not being diagnosed," he said. "Teachers should look for these girls who will be poor readers and often they are ostracised."

 Early diagnosis is considered important because it gives children the opportunity for treatment to help them concentrate and learn, Dr Ian Lillico.

 Sydney University researchers have developed a computer program that can pick up ADD and ADHD in boys and girls with 96 per cent accuracy.

"We were able to pick up the girls, we are testing for different aspects of ADHD," said neuroscientist Professor Leanne Williams.

The study was published in the journal of Paediatric Neurology.

"Boys you can see it in their behaviour, but in girls, parents will notice them withdrawing; where boys are fidgety, girls will be caught up in their own world," Professor Williams said.

About 6 per cent of Australians are thought to have ADD or ADHD, but it is likely to be higher because of the number of girls going undiagnosed.

Professor Dr Anita Gurian from the New York University said in a study on girls with ADHD that they were more likely to be labelled as daydreamers, spacey and disorganised and were on average diagnosed at age 12, while boys were diagnosed at seven.

"Most of the research has been done with boys, and as many as 50 to 75 per cent of girls with ADHD are missed," she said.