AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

There Really are Differences Between Boys and Girls

BY H. BARRY WALDMAN, DDS, MPH AND STEVEN P. PERLMAN, DDS, MSCD, DHL (HON)

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2017 to 2018 school year, 17 percent of male students ages, 6 to 21, received special services under the 1975 Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA); compared to 9 percent of female students benefiting from these services.1

The function of IDEA is to ensure that children in public schools with any illness, disorder or condition that can affect learning, should receive support for equal education; this includes youngsters on the autism spectrum, and those who have hearing, speech or language impairment, orthopedic problems, and learning disorders.

Boys often are thought of as being more likely to have learning disabilities or problems such as attention hyperactivity attention disorder (ADHD) than girls are - but is this really the case?

Is this discrepancy substantiated? Do more boys get special education support than girls because they actually are greater in number with learning disabilities? Or is it that they're perceived by teachers and other education professionals to have more learning disabilities?

"According to Underdog.org, studies have found that based on scientific criteria, there is no gender gap when it comes to education learning problems… notably in attention deficit hyperactivity disorders… It's just that teachers recommend twice as many boys as girls for learning disorder support. (emphasis added) 1 One theory for the difference in referral rates is that boys who are frustrated and struggle academically are more likely to act out. They may be hyperactive, impulsive, or disruptive in class, while girls typically display less obvious signs of their academic frustrations. For instance, girls who appear inattentive are more likely to be viewed by teachers as simply not interested in the subject matter. We also know that boys with ADHD are usually more hyperactive, impulsive and aggressive than girls with ADHD. That behavior makes them stand out.

In other words, boys with learning disabilities are more noticeable than girls with the same conditions. (Note: Many of the tests used to diagnose learning disabilities were designed and standardized for boys.) 1,2 That's why it's so important to closely observe your child's behaviors and take notes. If you have concerns, you can request a free school evaluation at any time. (sic) 2

READY TO LEARN: Understanding neurological and anatomical factors which predispose boys to learning disabilities is the essential initial step in preparing parents, teachers and the youngster to develop programs to ensure the child's proper development.

"Because males' eyes are hardwired to see and function through movement, they tend to learn more while doing so. Secondly, because of how their hearing is wired, males hear less well than females." 2

"Approximately 50% of the student population is female, and 50% is male…Yet the majority of students in special education tend to be male, and 85% of educators in America are female… Since the majority of educators are female, and since females do much of the identification, is there an issue there?"3 With the advent of more sophisticated brain research, we are learning there are big differences in how males and females process their respective realities.

• When a female has an emotional experience, that information is flooded throughout the brain in a matter of minutes. The initial reaction of a female is to cry and talk. When a male brain has an emotional experience, it is initially processed in one region of the brain and, in some studies, averages approximately five hours for that emotional information to permeate the brain. He typically wants to be left alone and to be silent.

• In school, if a male gets into a fight and has a female teacher or administrator, the first thing that is demanded of him is to "tell me what happened." When he sits there and says nothing, he is often accused of being "recalcitrant, uncooperative, and defiant." Furthermore, when males get emotionally stressed, the natural tendency is for them to "shut down." So, simply put, they appear uncooperative.

• Additionally, males tend to prefer physical aggression, while females often prefer relational, verbal aggression ("he said, she said, they said…"). 3 What happens in the early grades (K-3) is that, because of these differences, the male student often gets behind in skill development (e.g. decoding/comprehension, letter/number understandings, vocabulary acquisition, behavioral issues, etc.). By third grade, the gap is often so large that he has difficulty functioning in the mainstream. So we identify him for special education.3

MORE ABOUT DIFFERENCES

"Something is awry in the way our culture handles the education needs of boys and girls. A smart 11-year-old boy gets low grades in school, fidgets and drifts off in class, and doesn't do his homework. A girl in middle school only uses the computer to instant-message her friends; when it comes to mastering more essential computer skills, she defers to the boys in the class." 4 New brain imaging technologies confirm that genetically templated brain patterning by gender plays a far larger role than we realized. "Research into gender and education reveals a mismatch between many of our boys' and girls' learning brains and the institutions empowered to teach our children."4 For example:

The Minds of Girls

• Girls have, in general, stronger neural connectors in their temporal brain lobes than boys. These connectors lead to more sensually- detailed memory storage, better listening skills, and better discrimination among the various tones of voice. This leads to greater use of detail in writing assignments.

• The memory storage area in the brain is larger in girls than in boys, increasing her learning advantage, especially in the language arts.

• Girls' prefrontal cortex is generally more active than boys' and develops at earlier ages. They tend to make fewer impulsive decisions than boys do.

• Girls generally use more areas of their brains for verbal and emotive functioning. Boys tend to use more areas of the brain for spatial and mechanical functioning.

These female brain qualities are the tip of the iceberg, yet they can help teachers and parents understand why girls generally outperform boys in reading and writing from early childhood throughout life. Other neurologic variations lessen the inclination to the physical-spatial functions. Although some girls excel in these areas, more males than females gravitate toward physics, industrial engineering, and architecture. 4

The Minds of Boys

• Boys' brains have more areas dedicated to spatial-mechanical functioning, using, on average, half the brain space that females use for verbal-emotive functioning. Most boys will experience language and feelings differently than girls do.

• As a result of varying body chemicals (e.g. serotonin and oxytocin) boys are more likely to be physically impulsive.

• Boys' brains, are structured to compartmentalize learning. Thus, girls tend to multitask better than boys do, with fewer attention span problems and greater ability to make quick transitions between lessons.

• It is predominantly boys who drift off without completing assignments, who stop taking notes and fall asleep during a lecture. The more words a teacher uses, the more likely boys are to "zone out."

The reality in the United States schools:

• "Boys earn 70 percent of Ds and Fs and fewer than half of the As.

• Boys account for two-thirds of learning disability diagnoses.

• Boys represent 90 percent of discipline referrals.

• Boys dominate such brain-related learning disorders as ADD/ADHD, with millions now medicated in schools.

• 80 percent of high school dropouts are male.

• Males make up fewer than 40 percent of college students. "These statistics hold true around the world." (emphasis added) 4

THERE REALLY ARE DIFFERENCES

It is not just a bunch of boys misbehaving! There are neurological and anatomical factors which predispose boys to learning disabilities and/or problems such as attention hyperactivity attention disorder (ADHD). Understanding these factors is the essential initial step in preparing parents, teachers and the youngster to develop programs to ensure the child's proper development. •

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

H. Barry Waldman, DDS, MPH, PhD is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of General Dentistry, Stony Brook University, NY. E-mail: h.waldman@stonybrook.edu. Steven P. Perlman, DDS, MScD, DHL (Hon) is the Global Clinical Director and founder, Special Olympics, Special Smiles; and Clinical Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, The Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine.

References

1. Haddad G. Gender differences in learning disabilities. Available from: verywellfamily.com/gender-differences-in-learning-disabilities-2162942 Accessed May 10, 2020.

2. Cunningham B. Are learning and thinking differences more common in boys than in girls? Available from: understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/getting-started/what-you-need-to-know/do-boys-have-learning-and-thinking-differences-more-often-than-girls Accessed May 12, 2020.

3. ADA Process Com. Why do more males get identified for special education? Available from: ahaprocess.com/why-do-more-males-get-identified-for-special-education Accessed May 10, 2020.

4. Gurian M, Stevens K. With boys and girls in mind. Available from: ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov04/vol62/num03/With-Boys-and-Girls-in-Mind.aspx Accessed May11, 2020