

Pretty confusing, huh? Therapists like all those acronyms and letters and initials. That being said, ADD is often used as a shorthand to describe the inattentive type of ADHD. Today it is simply known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), with a specifier made to indicate the actual type of ADHD that individual suffers from: inattentive type, hyperactivity – impulsive type, or a combination type. To be clear, and technically speaking, there is no longer is an official “Attention Deficit Disorder“ diagnosis. And clinicians that have been around for a while!
ADD VS ADHD IN TEEN FULL
It is often used by people, as well as medical professionals, as a shorthand version of the full blown Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. To put it simply, the age of the person who is evaluating the client.įor example the term “Attention Deficit Disorder“ is shorter and easier to say and write. It simply comes down to a specifier to determine the type.īasically, the real difference between ADD and HDHD is who is diagnosing the person and which terminology (older or newer) they prefer to use. Technically there is no difference between ADD and ADHD. Still awake? So what is the real difference between ADD and ADHD?
ADD VS ADHD IN TEEN MANUAL
Then, in 1980, a new publication of the psychiatric diagnostic reference came out called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edition (DSM III) and the terms “Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder“ (ADHD) and “Attention Deficit Disorder without Hyperactivity“ (just plain ADD) were formalized. Before that, the term doctors use to describe Hyperactive and Inattentive children was “Hyperkinetic Disorder of Children.”

The diagnostic system of psychiatric disorders is relatively young, having been adopted back in 1980. No wonder people get these two confused all the time.īefore exploring the difference between ADD and ADHD, it’s worthwhile to take a brief historical look at Attention Deficit Disorder to get an idea of how the term came about. If you search Google for information on the difference between ADD and ADHD, you will likely find Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) lumped together.
