ADHD Types

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Comment by Ilah Barnes on September 16, 2009 at 1:50pm

I have heard that people with ADD tend to be risk takers and thrill seekers. I am the opposite. I tend to be very risk adversive.

Is this something that applies more to the hyperactive type? I am more the innatentive type.

Comment by DANA on July 12, 2009 at 10:47am

Joshua, thanks for sharing all of the links for Tetsuo!

I think that it is amazing that so many famous people have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD! It provides hope for all of us that if these individuals can become famous singers, actors, presidents and athletes than WE can, too!

Comment by Joshua Alexander, MBA on July 12, 2009 at 9:50am

Tetsuo,
I agree that there are several differences between ADD and ADHD which now both are now considered ADHD here in the US. But not all of the ADHD symptoms are negative like you mentioned.
Here's a couple of links I think you might like to review.
These talk about the positive traits associated with ADHD.

http://www.modernlife.org/all_staples1999to2000/1999Months/NovemberIssue/adhd.htm
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art50369.asp

Here is articles on possible misdiagnoses as well.
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+possibility+of+misdiagnosis+of+giftedness+and+ADHD+still+exists:+...-a0150850215

Finally here is a list of some of the famous people here in US who have ADHD.

http://www.adhdrelief.com/famous.html

Comment by Tetsuo Iida on July 12, 2009 at 3:27am

I have diagnosed as ADHD in 2005 by one of the few "Specialist" in Japan. it was heart-breaking and hard experience to acknowledge that I have an incurable disability in my brain, but I also felt relieved that I finally found out the explanation for all the things I couldn't do like others.
After I got a diagnosis I immediately felt uncomfortable with the term "Hyperactivity" in the doctor's certificate. I have no hyperactivity what so ever! Rather, I am suffering from "Hyper-Inactiveness". It is largely due to my chronicle depression as secondary lesion of ADD, I am usually very inactive and dormant and the term hyperactivity seemed just so inappropriate to describe my symptoms.
So I when to see another doctor to get a second opinion. Although I doubt that my second doctor really knows the difference, I am officially diagnosed as ADD without Hyperactivity. :P

I am now campaigning that there is a difference between ADHD and ADD with my avatar.

I don't remember where I got it from but here is a list of conditions that differing between ADHD and ADD: (I bet most of you are already aware of this but I'm going to post it anyway)

______________________________________________________________________
Differences between ADD and ADHD

there are some major differences between ADD and ADHD. Bev Price, on her website, lists some important characteristics of both.

ADD Characteristics:

* Sluggish
* Honors other's boundaries
* Obedient
* Underassertive
* Overly Polite
* Docile
* Modest
* Shy
* Socially Withdrawn
* Bonds with others but doesn't attract friends

ADHD Characteristics

* Physically Hyperactive
* Impulsive
* Intrusive
* Rebellious
* Bossy
* Irritation
* Show Off/Egotistical
* Attracts friends but doesn't easily bond
* More prone toward Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorders

Comment by MontanaShepherdess on May 21, 2009 at 12:40am

Well, this forum is quite therapeutic (speaking for myself). I grew up in a family that must have been 'mostly ADHD', so we all connected easily and it was 'never a dull roar' in our house (although others say my family is kind of intense, everybody interrupts everybody and nobody seems to mind). My two younger brothers were diagnosed with ADHD (both hyperactive subtype) as kids but I 'escaped' diagnosis until adulthood (after 40). Might add that I escaped glasses too. My mother got distracted and forgot to followup on the doctor's recommendation for glasses when I was 8 and I elected not to remind her. My eyes adjusted well (more precisely, my brain accommodated well) and I still don't wear glasses. I'm the oldest of 6... its common to have larger families if you have strong ADD genetics. My mother was Rh negative ... and this may have had some influence. Just now I can't tell if I'm typing in the co-existing disorders or different types of ADD... or am I on the 'wall'? ie ADHD types... Frankly I never did any blogging until this adderworld opportunity. so to return to the point(s) There are some age-related variations in the presentation of subtypes. Many adults diagnosed in adulthood would qualify for the inattentive subtype, because the DSMIV-TR criteria are so limited (ie child focused). I myself fit the combined subtype, with both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive features. As adults, its important to understand the impulsivity factor... not just focus on hyperactivity. there is actually an international research association focused on the study of impulsivity as its own construct. I like to use daily life activities to approximate ADHD symptoms when engaging in diagnostic process. For e.g., one of my patients who has ADHD (his parents are teachers and dont agree with him or me on this diagnosis -despite the objective testing I've done, they only want to say that he has 'anxiety'.... they think all ADDers are misbehaving children) is having a 16th birthday soon. His parents thought it would be great to have him go with friends out to the movies ... he was groaning... cant sit through it. I can't sit through a film myself, unless I can do something in tandem (knit, write TODO lists, or talk about the director's strategies etc) or be allowed to get up every 10 minutes to 'do something'. It was wonderful when we began to have home DVDs and I didn't have to sit in a theatre anymore. As for the nicotine/smoking hypothesis... this is prevalent for a wide variety of 'mental disorders', including schizophrenia. My mother did smoke during my pregnancy and the first three kids, but the last two were officially diagnosed, not the first four. My sister's daughter has ADD-inattentive subtype (my opinion) and my sister never smoked. I myself have never smoked and know plenty of ADDers who don't. I think nicotine is a separate but related factor, not a causal agent. And by the way, not all ADDers are stupid (though we may grow up with somebody telling us this). My siblings all have IQs above 130 and probably above 145. I started college at 16 (it was either finish early or hit the street) and I currently have a PhD. Frankly, college is much easier than elementary school. I tell most of my patients that college is worth fighting for, but you can succeed without any formal schooling.

Comment by ronald Sorenson on May 20, 2009 at 3:25pm

I am not sure that we want to prove to someone or ourselves that we can do it I believe its that we as adders want and crave more attention we even love giving it to ourselves, it just feels good.

Comment by Robert Crain on May 20, 2009 at 12:47pm

I am self diagnosed, mostly from the process of having my children tested. This includes information gained through my own research and discussions with their behavioral psychologist. Through all of this, I have determined that I am mostly inattentive, but I do have moments of impulsivness. By the way, I also have my Master's Degree!

Regarding Dr. Rabiner's research - we have to consider that it was completed in 1998 and we seemingly learn more and more each day. There is so much more to learn about ADHD and I think we have made large strides recently regarding the conditions and exactly how it affects everyone. And how do we get it? I believe it is possible from a chemical imbalance that we are born with and is hereditary.

I have read articles where parental smoking was a cause of ADHD in children, and for all I know there may be a lot of merit to that as we know smoking is dangerous to our health. I can tell you that a lot of people who have ADHD also have a predisposition to smoke since nicotine is known to speed up the neurotransmitters in our brain. I believe this is why it is very difficult for many people to quit smoking since there are two battles to fight - nicotine addiction and self-medication for ADHD symptoms. I can speak from experience on this one as I am a former smoker and found it EXTREMELY difficult to quit. Back to the hypothesis: Is smoking causal for ADHD? However, from what I can tell, smoking cigarettes did not become poplar until early 1900's. How can we explain Leonardo di Vinci having ADHD, who died in 1597? I don't believe it was from his mother smoking cigarettes. This just proves there are lots of information and some myths that we have to sift through in gaining more knowledge about our condition.

Back to my achieving a Masters Degree. I never thought about going to college following high school because I was "not smart enough" to get in or care enough to study. Later in life, I set out to prove that I was not stupid and set goals for myself. One was going to college. So I worked hard to get accepted to a major university, and I didn't quit until I received my Master's Degree. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and I did. It felt really great. I think many of us with ADHD want to prove to everyone, mainly ourselves, that we can acheive great things and each of us has something to contribute.

Comment by Janice Adamson on May 20, 2009 at 8:51am

I have ADHD, mainly the inattentive type, four of my five children also have ADHD in varying degrees. It's like the blind leading the blind!

Comment by ronald Sorenson on May 20, 2009 at 8:29am

Hello all i think I have all the d's and since being dianosed about two years ago everyday gets better and I really do feel blessed to have this in my brain.

Comment by Joshua Alexander, MBA on May 17, 2009 at 10:11am

I do think that Dr. Rabiner was sadly misinformed as far as intelligence of ADHD people are concerned. I belong to a local ADHD group that meets every month and noone in the group has less than a Masters degree. I think actually on average from previous studies I've read our average IQ is 113 for ADHD people which exceeds the normal 100 IQ for the average person. I did however agree with his assessment on social interactions of ADHD people. Last time I took an IQ test I scored a 145 which makes me question his intelligence quote.

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