Ever heard someone call themselves ADD? 

ADD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder, without the hyperactivity. Some doctors still subscribe to this as not everyone with ADHD exhibits hyperactive behavior. What is hyperactive behavior you ask? People with hyperactive ADHD feel the need for constant movement. They often fidget, squirm, and struggle to stay seated. Children often appear to act as if “driven by a motor” and run around excessively. People of all ages may talk non-stop, interrupt others, blurt out answers, and struggle with self-control.

You may have heard people use ADD and ADHD interchangeably and have wondered which was right. Nowadays people use ADHD more commonly than ADD, but let’s dive into their differences and how ADHD came to be. 

The timeline:

The American Psychological Association (APA) released a third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) in 1980. They changed the name of the disorder from hyperkinetic impulse disorder to attention deficit disorder (ADD). Scientists believed hyperactivity was not a common symptom of the disorder. This listing created two subtypes of ADD: ADD with hyperactivity, and ADD without hyperactivity. 

The APA released a revised version of the DSM-III in 1987. They removed the hyperactivity distinction and changed the name to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The APA combined the three symptoms (inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity) into a single type and did not identify subtypes of the disorder.

The APA released the fourth edition of the DSMin 2000. The fourth edition established the three subtypes of ADHD used by healthcare professionals today:

• combined type ADHD

• predominantly inattentive type ADHD

• predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type ADHD

Being hyperactive is still the most recognized and synonymous behavior for ADHD. This meant that oftentimes those that don’t exhibit these hyperactive tendencies, “weren’t adhd enough” to get the same support and recognition for their condition. This distinction with the new subtypes helps open up the possibility to all people experiencing attention deficiency, being that we’re all nuanced human beings, shouldn’t our experience of ADHD be too?

Sources: 

https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/history#1987

https://www.verywellmind.com/is-add-the-same-thing-as-adhd-20467