The Differences Between ADD and ADHD

Many people have heard of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or, what it was initially known as, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). While both conditions fall under the same official diagnosis, there are some key differences.

Both ADD and ADHD are problems with neurotransmitters and the lack of neurotransmitters connecting neurons together. This causes problems either suppressing activity or hindering the ability to pay attention.

Types

ADD/ADHD is typically classified into one of three types:

• Primarily inattentive
• Primarily impulsive/hyperactive
• Combined type – both inattentive and hyperactive

Children with inattentive type ADHD struggle to focus, sustain attention, follow detailed instructions, and organize tasks and activities. These children often have weak working memory, are easily distracted by external stimuli, and often lose things. This was the type initially known as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Children with impulsive/hyperactive ADHD are in motion constantly – fidgeting, squirming, struggling to stay still. These children often talk non-stop, interrupt others and struggle with self-control.

The combined type classification means a patient exhibits six or more symptoms of each type – both inattention and impulsivity.

Age

Typically, ADHD presents early, around kindergarten or first grade. Kids who struggle with ADHD have problems maintaining the “norms” for this age, often doing the following:

• Struggle to pay attention
• Fidget/move a lot
• Can’t keep hands to themselves
• Make lots of noise
• Interrupt others while talking
• Touching people excessively
• Unable to stay seated
• Not completing work when asked
• Emotional dysregulation – getting upset at things that might not bother other children this age
• Cry/get angry regularly
• Do impulsive things

Children with inattentive type of ADD/ADHD – especially those who are smart – may not exhibit symptoms of the condition until they are a little older, around third or fourth grade. Kids with the inattentive type of ADHD don’t move around as much as kids with the hyperactivity type, nor are they as loud typically. These kids may just look like they are zoned out or daydreaming.

Children with the inattentive type of ADHD do the following:

• Have a short attention span and being easily distracted
• Make careless mistakes – for example, in schoolwork
• Appear forgetful or lose things
• Unable to stick to tasks that are tedious or time-consuming
• Unable to listen to or carry out instructions
• Constantly change activity or task
• Have difficulty organizing tasks

Children with inattentive type of ADD/ADHD usually find things like reading comprehension very difficult, which is why it presents in the grades where that begins, with math word problems and more intense reading material. In the first few grades, there is usually so much repetition in the classroom of the material they are learning. Around third or fourth grade, the teaching/learning is sped up, which is when children with ADD begin to struggle.

Some individuals are not diagnosed with ADD or ADHD until adulthood, as all of the issues present differently in each person. Treatment at a younger age can be helpful, as ADHD can cause problems into adulthood, including making impulsive choices and struggling to stay in relationships or at jobs.

Diagnosis

To determine the official diagnosis of ADHD, pediatricians will do an assessment called the Vanderbilt Assessment, which is a test used to diagnose children between the ages of 6 and 12. These tests are done by parents, teachers and other adults in the child’s life to ensure the attention and/or hyperactivity issues are happening everywhere for the child, not just at home or at school.

Symptoms can present themselves in different ways at different locations, for instance a child who struggles to sit still and complete their homework at school may struggle with completing tasks assigned to them by their parents.

Treatment

For many patients, the best course of treatment for ADD/ADHD symptoms is medication. Typically, those medications have a stimulant which increases the neurotransmitters in the brain. There are medication options available that do not contain a stimulant, which might be better for some patients.

All ADD/ADHD medications have side effects, so it is important to confirm that the benefits outweigh the risks. Typical side effects of these medications include:

• Weight loss
• Poor appetite
• Trouble sleeping
• Emotional irregularity

For children battling severe ADD/ADHD, medications can be incredibly helpful. Pediatricians might base the decision whether or not to suggest medication for a child on the following situations:

• School failure, where a child is unable to learn due to inability to pay attention and complete their work.
• Negative social situations, where the child is struggling to make friends or has no friends at all.
• Terrible self-esteem problems, where a child thinks poorly of him or herself due to getting in trouble regularly, struggling in social situations, etc.

If parents are seeing their child exhibit ADD/ADHD symptoms, or experiencing any of the negative situations listed above, it is important to visit with the child’s pediatrician about a possible assessment.

Sources:

Cleveland Clinic – https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4784-attention-deficithyperactivity-disorder-adhd