Many people get confused over ADD and ADHD but learning about the differences between the two conditions helps to lift the common misconceptions about the 2 distinctly different disorders and the nature of each one of them. ADD is a complex condition known as Attention Deficit Disorder, which may have a physiological beginning but multifarious results may arise due to it while ADHD is the short-form of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder with consequences such as increased activity and greater impulse-prone decisions taken by the person suffering it.

Noticeable hyperactivity is apparent to the observant person studying the affected person diagnosed with ADHD. On the other hand, persons suffering from ADD typically have reduced powers of concentration, but there are still various sub-types to both conditions that characterize the problems of the disorders. Some of these are given below:

For example, many readers will recall the common picture of an ADD afflicted person being associated with the image of a small boy bouncing off walls and driving educationists and care-givers batty. The stereotyping for ADHD is easier to identify since it is less difficult to define as compared to the more complicated condition of ADD: it is resposible for causing disturbances in the classroom and other associations set-backs in a group environment and is easier to pick up also. The sad part about ADD though, is that it has many negative side-effects even in the instance of the condition being less visible.

If not attended to urgently, an ADD afflicted person may seem unnaturally ’spaced-out’ or disoriented to onlookers, which is really not the case but only look to be so as in the case of an ADD-er gazing out the window with nothing apparent to others to look at! This makes ADD a difficult condition to diagnose and thus many potential patients may go many years without proper treatment as diagnosis has not been reached, giving them the reputation of ‘not being all there.’

The result of this lack of timely diagnosis and subsequent missing out on treatment for ADD may cause the mind to drift, which is no less disconcerting for a person suffering the condition. Besides this, the common belief about ADHD was that it only affected boys, which is a myth that has recently been busted: experts reveal even girls can be affected by attention deficit disorder and it may carry on till they reach middle age! However, one major difference is that girls afflicted with ADD seem to record the inattentive type of this condition, which is why it has been misdiagnosed frequently as depression. It may also have something to do with the fact that inattentive ADD causes less noticeable problems for the person suffering it and since there is minimal disruption to people around them, many ADD-ers may suffer in silence, without treatment, for years at end, thus adding to their misery.

This is also the reason why it is imperative for proper treatment to take place that both these limiting disorders are accurately diagnosed in the initial stages and academic situations are the best bet for zoning in on implications of either disorder; then, be it ADD or AHDH, interuppted or incomplete school work will not be an issue and subsequently, timely diagnosis will help parents keep a watchful eye over wards with academic, psychological and general problems. From issues of peer socialization to lack of orderliness to inability to sit still for even short periods or mood swings (quiet to talkative), there are many indications of ADD or ADHD that observant parents can watch out for and get help with if their children show these telling signs indicating either disorders so as to get best scope of treatment from timely counselling and therapy.

Thus, it can be concluded that for a child’s complete wellness program to succeed, one must concentrate equally on the psychological as well as the physical aspects of the child’s upkeep.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/adhd-articles/add-and-adhd-differences-how-to-distinguish-between-the-two-703342.html