It’s not uncommon for people to sometimes refer to ADD, or attention deficit disorder, as the neurodevelopmental disorder ADHD, or vice versa. The added H is for hyperactivity. For example, an individual may observe someone having a difficult time focusing and say, “He seems like he has ADHD.” Similarly, someone might notice a person with hyperactive tendencies and reference the term ADD, which has nothing to do with hyperactivity.
Although interchangeable use of these acronyms occurs, broad-sweeping statements surrounding the words can become confusing. While there are some similarities between the terms, important differences exist. Here’s a breakdown of the definitions and how they’ve changed over time.
[See: 10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids’ Health.]
ADHD and ADD
ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is comprised of behaviors involving inattention, hyperactive-impulsivity or a combination of the two. According to the American Psychiatric Association, examples of ADHD symptoms include, but are not limited to, an inability to remain focused, excess movement that isn’t appropriate for the setting and acting in the moment without first thinking the behavior through — or elements of each.
On the other hand, ADD stands strictly for “attention deficit disorder.” However, this inattentiveness is also covered by the term ADHD. In fact, ADD is considered an outdated term; ADHD is the phrase officially used to describe the aforementioned behaviors, and is often set off with specific descriptors to indicate the primary symptoms. For example, a person may have inattentive ADHD.
In simplest terms, ADHD can refer to an attention deficit or inattentiveness, but the term also incorporates hyperactive and impulsive symptoms.
History
“The term ADD first appeared in 1980 in the third edition of the DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the book psychiatrists use to diagnose mental disorders,” says Dr. Marilyn Wedge, a family therapist in Westlake Village, California. In the DSM-III, she explains, predisposing factors for ADD included a chaotic home life, epilepsy and molestation or physical abuse of the child. The DSM-5, which is the current manual, does not include these risk factors, Wedge says.
Seven years later, in 1987, she says the term ADHD was first introduced when the manual was revised. “ADD is an older term which many doctors may have learned in medical school before 1987,” Wedge says.
Previously, different terminology was used.
Dr. Sarah D. Ryan, a pediatrician at Rex Healthcare in North Carolina, says one of the original terms to describe ADHD symptoms was “minimal brain dysfunction.”
In fact, information published in a 1976 issue of the Southern Medical Journal elaborated on minimal brain dysfunction, noting it was found in almost 20 percent of school children and “characterized by evidences of immaturity involving control of activity, emotions, and behavior, and by specific learning disabilities involving the communicating skills needed in reading, writing, and mathematics.” An inability to “maintain attention and concentration and an inability to skillfully blend the auditory and visual functions essential in language performance” were outlined as “prime deficits in the classroom.”
[See: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Counseling.]
Another term also existed.
“Historically, ADD was the first formal label of a ‘mental disorder’ that doctors previously called ‘hyperkinesis’ of childhood — fidgety, distracted behavior that was thought to be a normal reaction to stress in a child’s life,” says Wedge.
Semantics
When she addresses ADHD with families, Ryan says she discusses the various types of behaviors such as inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity and a combination. “I personally like using the new terminology because it captures the essence of these different presentations better than the older ADD terminology,” she explains. She also says the currently used acronym does a better job at highlighting some of the behavioral challenges inherent in the condition.
However, parents may observe variations in professional opinions on this topic.
For example, Wedge, who is also the author of “Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug Free Approach for Troubled Kids” and a frequent contributor for Psychology Today and the Huffington Post, expresses concern about the current term, ADHD. She says the “hyperactivity part broadens the diagnosis, sweeping more children into the net of having a mental disorder.”
In fact, she suggests both names — ADD and ADHD — are potentially problematic. “The problem with both names is that they make childhood reaction to stressors into a ‘disorder’ that requires treatment with medication rather than focusing on the underlying causes of the child’s inattentiveness and overactive behavior.”
[See: Hoarding, ADHD, Narcissism: Inside the Minds of History’s Great Personalities.]
“Most normal children can qualify for a diagnosis of hyperactivity if they are chronically bored at school because they are gifted, immature for their grade level, overstimulated by a sugary breakfast, don’t get enough exercise or are spending too much time on video games at home,” Wedge explains.
Instead of too hastily prescribing ADHD medications, Wedge says it’s essential to focus on other reasons which may be behind a child’s inattention and overactive behavior.
What ultimately matters, of course, is for each family to do what it feels is right for the child.
Ryan says if a parent chooses to use ADD terminology, she doesn’t “spend too much time worrying about semantics.” The important thing, she says, “is to recognize the problem, properly diagnose the condition and provide appropriate treatment and monitoring.”
More from U.S. News
8 Things You Didn’t Know About Counseling
10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids’ Health
Hoarding, ADHD, Narcissism: Inside the Minds of History’s Great Personalities
Is There a Difference Between ADD and ADHD? originally appeared on usnews.com
