New research indicates that girls from multilingual and immigrant families face significant delays in ADHD diagnosis, raising concerns about health disparities and cultural barriers affecting early support for affected children.
New research from the University of East Anglia suggests that girls from multilingual and immigrant families may face a further delay in ADHD diagnosis, adding another layer to a condition already known to be missed more often in girls than in boys. The study, published in the Journal of Attention Disorders, examined data from more than 70,000 children in Norway and found that girls whose mothers spoke a language other than Norwegian were diagnosed significantly later than girls from Norwegian-speaking homes.
The findings matter well beyond Norway. In England and Wales, around 5.1 million people speak a main language other than English, and the researchers say that raises questions about whether similar delays may be affecting children in the UK. Maria Garraffa of UEA said ADHD places a substantial burden on health services and that many children still go undiagnosed, missing support that can help at school and at home.
The study linked parental reports of attention difficulties with official ADHD diagnoses recorded in the Norwegian health system. It found that children from multilingual households were more likely to be described by parents as having attention problems, but that did not translate into a higher likelihood of diagnosis. Among families where the mother’s language background was not Norwegian, the gap between boys and girls widened to almost five years.
The researchers said several factors may be involved, including language barriers, cultural attitudes towards ADHD, stigma and difficulty navigating healthcare services. They also suggested that standard questionnaires may not work equally well across different cultural groups. Previous UEA research has shown that language difficulties and ADHD symptoms often overlap, and that early identification can be important in helping children get classroom support before problems worsen.
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