What is the difference between ADD and ADHD

What is the difference between ADD and ADHD

What is ADD

Attention deficit disorder, or ADD, is a term that is used to describe a neurological condition that brings out certain symptoms such as inattention, poor working memory, and distractibility (Russo, 2019). ADD can also mean the individual loses track of time easily, is forgetful, has trouble focusing, and struggles with executive functioning. Doctors and clinicians likely refer to someone with these symptoms as having Predominantly Inattentive Type ADHD (Russo, 2019; Kinman & Raypole, 2021).

Is there a difference between ADD and ADHD?

ADD is a colloquial term for one specific type of ADHD—Predominantly Inattentive Type, which before the early 1990’s was called ADD. So yes, there is a difference. ADD is now referred to as Predominantly Inattentive Type attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Russo, 2019).

What is ADHD?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is also a neurological condition with symptoms of being energetic, being impulsive, and struggling with being patient or waiting their turn. This can also look like someone who is talkative, fidgety, and has nervous energy (Kinman & Raypole, 2021; Cabral et al., 2020).

What are the main differences?

Before the umbrella term of ADHD, ADD was classified into two groups: ADD with hyperactivity and ADD without hyperactivity. It was then combined into what we understand as ADHD.

ADHD has three subtypes, which are predominantly inattentive type, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type, and then combined type (Wilens & Spencer, 2010; Cabral et al., 2020).

Hyperactive-impulsive type

Hyperactive-impulsive type involves some of the stereotypical traits that we classify ADHD as, such as bouncing off the walls, interrupting, or fidgeting constantly. Often this can look like excessive talking, blurting out answers, or difficulty waiting ones turn. Typically, these symptoms show up in many areas of your life, such as work, school, and relationships (Russo, 2019).

Inattentive type

Inattentive type looks a bit different; it usually creates symptoms of being easily distracted, frequent forgetfulness, inability to pay attention, trouble with following tasks, and unable to pay attention to the details. Similarly, these symptoms can show up in many areas of your life (Russo, 2019; Cabral et al., 2020).

Combined type

Combined type is when the individual presents with symptoms from both hyperactive and inattentive types (Russo, 2019; Cabral et al., 2020).

How is ADHD diagnosed?

ADHD is diagnosed by a professional using scales, assessments, and interviews. For a child or adolescent, their behaviour and parent-child interactions are observed along with evaluating the child’s school and medical status (da Silva et al., 2023). For adults, the professional will use assessments and scales to understand if they meet the DSM-IV-TR (Wilens & Spencer, 2010). A professional will rule out other issues such as mood disorders, personality disorders, substance abuse disorders, or dissociative disorders (Kinman & Raypole, 2021).

For a diagnosis, adolescents would need to have at least 6 symptoms from each category, and then adults would need to have at least 5 symptoms from each category (Russo, Kinman & Raypole, 2021).

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Cabral, M. D. I., Liu, S., & Soares, N. (2020). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, risk factors and evaluation in youth. Translational Pediatrics, 9(Suppl 1), S104–S113. https://doi.org/10.21037/tp.2019.09.08

da Silva, B. S., Grevet, E. H., Silva, L. F., Ramos, J. N., Rovaris, D. L., & Bau, C. D. (2023). An overview on neurobiology and therapeutics of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Discover Mental Health, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-022-00030-1 

Kinman, T., & Raypole, C. (2021, November 8). ADHD vs. ADD: What You Need to Know. healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/difference-between-add-and-adhd

Russo, A. (2019, September 4). ADD vs. ADHD Symptoms: 3 Types of Attention Deficit Disorder. Additude. https://www.additudemag.com/add-adhd-symptoms-difference/

Wilens, T. E., & Spencer, T. J. (2010). Understanding attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder from childhood to adulthood. Postgraduate Medicine, 122(5), 97–109. https://doi.org/10.3810/pgm.2010.09.2206