Confusing labels for ADHD

For more than 100 years, extremely hyperactive children have been recognized
as having behavioral problems. In the 1970s, doctors recognized that those hyperactive
children also had serious problems with “paying attention.” Researchers
in the 1980s found that some children had severe problems in paying attention,
but little or no problem with hyperactivity at all. That’s when they started
talking about two types of Attention Deficit Disorder: with or without hyperactivity.

In 1994 the name of the disorder got changed in a way that is confusing for
many people. Since that time all forms of attention deficit disorder are officially
called "Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorde" after which a comma
appears. After the comma, a subtype is specified:

• Predominantly Inattentive Type for someone with serious inattention problems,
  but not much problem with hyperactivity/impulsive symptoms;
• Combined Type for someone with serious inattention problems and serious
  problems with hyperactivity and impulsivity; or,
• Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive Type for someone with serious problems
  with hyperactivity/impulsivity, but not much problem with inattention.

Even though these are the official labels, a lot of professionals and lay
people use both terms: ADD and ADHD. Some use those terms to designate the old
subtypes; others use ADD just as a shorter way to refer to any subtype.

Inattention Symptoms

In the DSM-IV, the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association,
there is a list of nine symptoms of “inattention” problems. 2 Almost
everybody has some difficulty with some of these sometimes. Persons who qualify
for a diagnosis of AD/HD have at least six of these nine symptoms and suffer
significant impairment as a result. This means that daily functioning in two
or more of the following areas is significantly disrupted: school, work, family
or social interaction.

1. Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes
   in schoolwork, work, or other activities
2. Often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities
3. Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
4. Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork,
   chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure
   to understand instructions)
5. Often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities
6. Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require
   sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework)
7. Often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school
   assignments, pencils, books, or tools)
8. Is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
9. Is often forgetful in daily activities

Because the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were originally designed for children,
the following questions have been developed from those criteria by the World
Health Organization 3 to ask adults about whether they suffer from AD/HD inattention
symptoms:

• Do you often make careless mistakes when you have to work on a boring and
  difficult project?
• Do you often have difficulty keeping your attention when you are doing
  boring or repetitive work?
• Do you often have difficulty concentrating on what people say to you, even
  when they are speaking to you directly?
• Do you often have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once
  the challenging parts have been done?
• Do you often have difficulty getting things in order when you have to do
  a task that requires organization?
• When you have a task that requires a lot of thought, do you often avoid
  or delay getting started?
• Do you often misplace or have difficulty finding things at home or at work?
• Are you often distracted by activity or noise around you?
• Do you often have problems remembering appointments or obligations?

Individuals who have significant chronic impairment from six or more of these
symptoms are likely to have AD/HD if they also meet certain other criteria for
diagnosis that are specified in the DSM-IV.

(Continue reading this article Here)

Originally posted 2005-09-09 05:56:02.

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