ADHD or ADD?
The Difference between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder.
An explanation of the difference between the terms attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
As Shakespeare said "What's in a name?" Well, outside of the ADHD community a whole lot of confusion. There is a long, lengthy history in regards to the name Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder that starts with the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH.
Every so often, NIMH publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (better known as the DSM followed by the version number). The DSM-III labeled the disorder "attention deficit disorder." However, when the revised edition came out the name changed to "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder."
Often times, people mistakenly use the term ADD to refer to what is actually deficit hyperactivity disorder predominantly inattentive and ADHD to refer to the deficit hyperactivity disorder predominantly hyperactive-impulsive and combined subtypes. But to be entirely accurate, the term deficit hyperactivity disorder applies to all three subtypes.
You can find more information about the three subtypes of ADHD in my article titled "The Big Three of ADD/ADHD."
