Learn more about ADD


Hyperactivity vs ADD - What's The Difference?

A common misconception, when it comes tocompleting daily activities, and not be
Attention Deficit Disorder, is that itappropriate behavior for the age group
is one in the same with hyperactivity.of the child. They must also occur for
However, this is far from the truth.an extended period of time, at least six
While people with ADD may exhibit signsmonths and be identifiable prior to the
of hyperactivity, it is not an inherentage of 7 and continue thereafter.
trait of the disorder and often does notHowever, some children with ADD also
occur with sufferers of ADD.have hyperactivity, demonstrated as
Hyperactivity is a general termexcessive fidgeting, running, and
referring to excessive and/orjumping at inappropriate times. They
pathological activeness. This term isoften seem to have an inability to be
often used erroneously for an activestill. If a child exhibits hyperactivity
person that does not meet the excessivein addition to Attention Deficit
criteria. It is important to understandDisorder, they are often termed "ADHD":
that all children are active to aAttention Deficit/Hyperactivity
certain extent, and that some are evenDisorder. While many people assume the
extremely active. However, this does notterm ADD is an antiquated version of
necessarily constitute hyperactivity. AADHD, they actually refer to two
hyperactive person will seem to bedifferent types of disorders.
driven to movement, making it almostIn all, there are typically three
impossible to sit still. If sitting,variations of ADD or ADHD. These are (1)
they will often fidget or talkinattentive type, (2)
excessively as a countermeasure.hyperactive-impulsive type, and (3)
Hyperactivity is often difficult tocombination. Obviously the inattentive
assess in adults; however, children aretype exhibits a difficulty in paying
much easier to diagnose.attention and completing activities, but
Attention Deficit Disorder, on the otheris not hyperactive. These children tend
hand, is exhibited by inattentiveness,to be more difficult to diagnose. On the
impulsiveness, and distractibility, butother hand, the hyperactive-impulsive
not necessarily hyperactivity. A childtype is extremely active and has a
that suffers from ADD may havedifficulty controlling their behavior.
difficulty completing assignments,Of course, the third type is a
paying attention, and/or waiting theircombination of the two previous types
turn. In order for any of theseand displays inattentiveness,
behaviors to constitute a disorder, theyhyperactivity, and impulsiveness.
must be extreme, create difficulty in



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