For too many girls and women, these adjectives will sound familiar—yet they may not be signs of personal character flaws, but instead can be signs of unrecognized Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). As it was believed for a long time that it only affected boys, the disorder in girls and women (and adult men) has been woefully under-studied by researchers, is often misdiagnosed by doctors, and is very much misunderstood by most people. Major research on the disorder in women goes back barely 20 years! The DSM-5, the current diagnostic manual used by the American Psychiatric Association, is still, broadly speaking, centered on the presentation of ADHD in young boys in its criteria for guiding doctors in making a diagnosis. If that sounds frustrating to you, you’re not alone—the more research I’ve done into this topic, the more infuriated I’ve become at the current state of ADHD research for those of us with two X chromosomes. Let’s take a closer look at what ADHD is, the neurological components behind the disorder, and the disparate impacts it has on the lives of girls and women with the condition.