[Jill326]

I have ADD and curiosity had led me to research it. The problem is, it's always grouped with ADHD which is completely different. To someone with neither, they probably seem the same, but as you know they aren't. I even found this here on Psych Central. The screening test was also more leaned towards ADHD asking questions like, "Do you have trouble sitting still?" "Do you act impulsively?" Someone with ADD does not experience this.

I think ADHD gets a lot more attention because it is more observable to others while ADD is more internal. I am not trying to undermine ADHD. Both ADD and ADHD are hard to cope with, but I think they should be dealt with separatly sometimes.

Am I alone on this?

[Yoda]

It is really confusing, isn't it? It used to be that psychiatrist used the terms ADD and ADHD but when they updated the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) they changed it to everybody with ADD/ADHD is now called ADHD but now it is ADHD with hyperactivity or ADHD without hyperactivity. I don't know why doctors keep renaming things. I find it most annoying. When I first studied as a RN diabetes was either IDDM (insulin dependent diabetes mellitus) or NIDDM (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus). That made sense to me. But now they don't use those term and say it is either Diabetes Type ! or Diabetes Type 2. And my knee problem used to be called chondromalacia but now it is patellofemoral syndrome.

I certainly am rambling on. Can you tell I have ADHD too? (without the hyperactivity)

When my son was young he was very, VERY hyperactive. Ran everywhere, would eat his dinner twisting and lying sideways and at times under the table. He was a handful to keep up with. But when he became a teenager he became less hyperactive. He still has attention problems but no hyperactivity. So which classification would he be in then? Would it change from childhood to teen years or should his diagnosis remain the same? I haven't got a clue.

[Simcha]

Originally Posted by killthejill

I have ADD and curiosity had led me to research it. The problem is, it's always grouped with ADHD which is completely different. To someone with neither, they probably seem the same, but as you know they aren't. I even found this here on Psych Central. The screening test was also more leaned towards ADHD asking questions like, "Do you have trouble sitting still?" "Do you act impulsively?" Someone with ADD does not experience this.

I think ADHD gets a lot more attention because it is more observable to others while ADD is more internal. I am not trying to undermine ADHD. Both ADD and ADHD are hard to cope with, but I think they should be dealt with separatly sometimes.

Am I alone on this?

They aren't completely different, but I understand your frustration at the way those of us with ADHD are generalized as being all hyperactive as defined by childlike terms in the DSM-IV.

The current clinical term for the three subtypes is called ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). The type you are referring to here seems to be the "Primarily Inattentive" subtype. The other subtypes are "Combined" and "Primarily Hyperactive/Impulsive". If they can't figure out which type you primarily are, they usually label you "ADHD-Unspecified".

Myself, I'm the Combined subtype--I have elements of hyperactivity and inattention equally represented at times (sometimes simultaneously). Either way, as adults we don't jump around out of our chairs like children in grade school (usually not anyway). The new DSM will likely include adult-like behavioral manifestations of the disorder. I can behave impulsively, and I can appear as though I am paying attention when my mind is completely on another planet.

Just because a disorder begins in childhood, it doesn't mean that we behave like children. Nor does it mean that we are all hyperactive as defined by some societal generalization... it's sorta like saying "All people with schizophrenia are alike". We all manifest different symptoms of the same disorder, and we also manifest them different from others with the same disorder.

As individuals, everyone needs to be treated individually, no matter what they cope with.