I hope this blog will help you define and identify ADD. This topic is close to my heart and really wish it could help out some people out there having the ADD condition or having someone around you with ADD. 

Attention Deficit Disorder, hyperactivity, and dyslexia are believed to be disorders of certain mechanisms of the central nervous system. Infants and children are the ones most often affected, and most often subjected to the widespread and indiscriminate use of drugs, especially Ritalin for quick short-cut suppression of deeper problems. Lenard Adler, MD says ” ADHD is a neurobiological disorder. It is the second most common mental health disorder in adults after depressive disorders. ADHD has a very high prevalence rate, occurring in about 6% to 8% of kids and 4.4% of U.S. adults. About 60% of children with the disorder go on to be adults with the disorder, so it tends to run the lifespan. It’s also a disorder that we think about 85% of the transmission is familial, so it tends to run in families. In fact, if there is a child in the family with ADHD there is a 30% to 40% chance that one of the two parents will have ADHD. And that is one of the things that commonly drives adults into the doctor’s office -– because they have a child that has been recently diagnosed and they realize they’ve had similar symptoms themselves in childhood and their spouse often nudges them and says, ‘Honey, you still have these things now but they are a little different.
ADD interferes with the child’s home, school and social life. Unable to screen out stimuli, the child is easily distracted. This usually intelligent child receives a label of being “learning-disabled” and finds the nervous system cannot be slowed down to focus long enough to complete an assigned task. Other symptoms may be head knocking, self-destructiveness, temper tantrums, clumsiness and sleep disturbances. ADD may exist with or without the hyperactivity aspect. ADD interferes with the child’s home, school and social life. Unable to screen out stimuli, the child is easily distracted. This usually intelligent child receives a label of being “learning-disabled” and finds the nervous system cannot be slowed down to focus long enough to complete an assigned task. Other symptoms may be head knocking, self-destructiveness, temper tantrums, clumsiness and sleep disturbances. ADD may exist with or without the hyperactivity aspect.

ADD being diagnosed for hundreds of years, but more recently has become more prevalent due to the increased use of chemicals, pollutants, or heavy metal toxicity (such as lead, mercury, and cadmium). One estimate quotes over l.3 million with Attention Deficit Disorder; another source quotes up to 3 million with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Frequently, bright children have been referred to psychologists or pediatricians because they exhibited certain behaviors (e.g., restlessness, inattention, impulsivity, high activity level, day-dreaming) commonly associated with a diagnosis of ADHD. Almost all of these behaviors, however, might be found in bright, talented, creative, gifted children. Until now, little attention has been given to the similarities and differences between the two groups, thus raising the potential for misidentification in both areas-giftedness and ADHD. This digest provides specific differences between the two groups that will help parents and educators better understand and evaluate their children.  

Stop by Attention Deficit Disorder for more on the subject.