My son has recently been diagnosed with ODD and ADHD. He is almost 10 years old. He is really good at school, but he has the defiance problem away from school. My question deals with the ADHD. I see him as having problems with concentration at school, but he is NOT hyper at all. What's the difference with ADHD and ADD? Why don't they diagnose it as that instead?
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Hi B.,
About 15% of ADHD children are ADHD without hyperactivity. Children with ADHD without hyperactivity are different in many ways from ADHD kids.
-- They often have lower energy than normal.
-- They are less assertive than normal. As a result, they are usually quite popular in school compared to ADHD kids.
-- They are much more likely to have learning disorders (especially Math) than ADHD kids.
-- They are much less likely to have ODD or conduct disorders.
-- They usually do not get identified early in school.
-- They are more likely to quietly daydream and never accomplish much. As a result, they do a good job of staying out of the teacher’s radar.
--They have a tendency to just drift through school (their body is in attendance, but not their mind).
Hope this answers your question,
Mark
