Difference Between ADHD And ADD

The Difference Between ADHD And ADD Is Seen In The Behavior Of The Child Tested.

The difference between ADHD and ADD can be discovered from the actual diagnosis attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and attention deficit disorder. The difference is the hyperactivity that makes the diagnosing psychologist give the ADHD or ADD label. The diagnosis is made by the psychologist based on the child's behavior during the psychological evaluation. A child who won't sit long enough while being evaluated is hyperactive. A normal child when being evaluated will focus his attention on the evaluator. An ADHD child will jump up and down in his chair, ask to leave the room, twist about in his chair as if it were a game and other behaviors that are not contrived but part of the hyperactivity mental disorder. An ADD child will sit placidly but his eyes will lose focus, his mind will not focus on the evaluator and questions will have to be repeated.

The ADHD child will have the symptoms of his disorder even past the age of 18 when most ADHD labelled people become adults and are given a new diagnosis by a psychiatrist. The hyperactivity might result in a label of antisocial behavior in most severe cases. A hyperactive child finds it almost impossible to sit in a chair for longer than 20 minutes. In a classroom, the hyperactive child will try to walk as much as possible often bothering other children as well as the teacher. It is more than an attention seeking behavior. Using discipline to correct an adhd child will not work. The hyperactivity mental disorder has many causes interestingly both physical and psychological.

It is a coping behavior that relieves the apprehension felt by the child and has nothing to do with seeking the attention of the group but actually trying to deal with the apprehension felt by being in the group or with another person. Medication often acts like a sedative. When the medication wears off, the behaviors return unless there has been some therapeutic counseling while the medication had calmed the adhd behaviors in the child. The ADD child will seem hopelessly slow in learning whereas the ADHD child might seem brilliant. The ADD child will not focus on long enough on school learning tasks to learn. Many ADD children have a learning disability that needs to be addressed which might also mean a biological or natural non psychological disorder.