Types of ADD

ADD, or Attention Deficit Disorder, is a common psychological disorder in children and adults that makes it difficult for the patient to focus on a single thing for any reasonable period of time.  It has been on the rise for the past couple decades, and there is a broad spectrum it can cover in terms of severity.  It has recently become better known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD.  The distinction drawn between the two is small.  The symptoms of ADHD are inattentiveness and hyperactivity.  These two symptoms can be, at times, symbiotic and interchangeable, or a patient can experience just one of the symptoms.  But since on average patients are affected to at least some extent by both, they are grouped together under the same name.

You can divide it into three types of ADD.

Hyperactive

Hyperactivity is described as an anti-social behavior, which can be defined by loudness, inability to sit still, and just generally bouncing off the walls and yelling.  If you're in the hyperactive subtype of ADD, you tend to exhibit more symptoms of hyperactivity than of inattentiveness, though you may show both.

Inattentive

Inattentiveness is described as an inability to focus on a single thing for any reasonable period of time.  This type of ADD is often harder to catch, because although the child has difficulty learning, they don't act out as much as a hyperactive child, so it is possible for their disorder to slip under the radar.  Children with this subtype exhibit more symptoms of inattentiveness than hyperactivity, but may exhibit some of both.

Combined

This is the whole package.  If a child has severe difficulty paying attention and is hyperactive, they fall into this category.  Most patients diagnosed with ADHD have this type of the affliction.

Possible Causes

ADHD often goes hand in hand with a whole host of other personality disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, mood disorders and many more.  Because of this, ADHD is often taken as the symptom of a deeper underlying emotional issue, which may have been genetically inherited or learned by nature.

Environmental Causes

Studies have found that exposure to alcohol and tobacco in utero can be correlated with ADD later on.  This potentially could be explained away as genetics, however, as mothers who are ADD are more likely to be smokers, so though they are smoking, this is not the reason ADD is passed on to their child.  A Southampton University study found that ingestion of certain food colorings are also strongly correlated to ADD.  Though there's no evidence that environmental factors alone can cause ADD, it's suspected that emotional or physical abuse or neglect in childhood could lead to ADD or ADHD.  Substance abuse may also cause ADHD.

Genetic Causes

Epilepsy and ADD and ADHD have been found to be linked, and it seems that it can run in families.  It is believed that while genetics usually play some role in getting ADD, it is usually coupled with social and environmental causes.  These all feed off of each other and make the condition worse.  It is possible to have a family with many people with ADD or ADHD and come out without the disorder.

Diagnosis

Because ADD and ADHD are comorbid and interlinked with so many other disorders, there is a tendency for the different types of ADD to get misdiagnosed as other disorders.  The DSM-IV supplies a list of criteria that must be matched for a child to diagnosed with ADHD.  There are 9 factors underneath inattentiveness, 6 of which must fit, OR 6 of the criteria underneath hyperactivity-impulsiveness (6 of which are listed as "hyperactive" and 3 of which are "impulsive.")  This is also how they determine the specific subtypes of ADHD.  If someone is only diagnosed in the one, that's their subtype.  If they're diagnosed in both, they are "combined."  All of the symptoms must have been present for a half a year or more, and to the point where they are disruptive.

There are some psychologists who think that ADD is an invented disorder that, rather than pinpointing a specific illness, is defined by social norms.  It has been postulated that hyperactivity may have evolved as a necessity before the agricultural revolution, in humankind's hunter/gatherer days.  It is likely that this is true to some extent, especially since the DSM-IV requires the symptoms to be "disruptive," which is a largely subjective matter, but because of the disorders comorbidity with other disorders and diseases, it is likely an actual existent disease to at least some degree.

For a child to be considered ADHD, the symptoms must appear before they are 7 years old, BUT it is possible for adults to have ADHD.  Usually, it becomes less disruptive in adult life, as most people who understand their condition have developed mechanisms to work with it or take medication, but there is also the potential that an adult won't get diagnosed, and as such, will continue to show the full-blown symptoms of ADD.  It is also possible for it to be a episodic disorder rather than a permanent one, brought on by sudden physical or emotional trauma.

Treatment

ADD or ADHD can be treated relatively well depending on the severity of the condition.  Psychological treatments have been developed, such as parent education and cognitive behavioral therapy.  There is also to some extent a necessity for the parents of the child to let them be hyperactive in times when it is not a problem or disruptive.

However, by far the most popular treatment is through medications such as Ritalin.  These medications have the effect of giving the patient greater focus and helping them curb their hyperactivity while on the drug.  The problem with this treatment is that in increases the likelihood of psychological disorders further down the line, but for the short term, they are extremely effective.  Most medications used are stimulants of some sort, but recently, antipsychotics have begun to be tested.  It's likely that these drugs are more dangerous, and as such, they are only used on an experimental basis for patients who do not respond to the stimulants and still have severe ADHD.  Other experimental therapies have been found to work as well, such as cutting back on television and video games and getting the children to play outside.