League_Girl wrote:
Actually ADD is without the hyperactivity. I used to wonder if I had ADHD too but mom said I don't and it's just ADD. But I sure got hyper as a kid and had to learn to control it. But I was suspected of having it when I was 10 and 12 but a diagnoses never got made.
I realize now hyper doesn't always mean jumping around (Not literally) and doing goofy stuff to get attention and not being able to follow the rules because you are too hyper to even behave. I did all that as a kid and I hated it myself but couldn't help it. That was how I also knew I was different. Other kids seemed to not get that and I did.
ADD is what it used to be called. Now the diagnoses are:
ADHD-Combined Type (Hyperactive/Impulsive + Inattentive)
ADHD-Primarily Hyperactive Type - this diagnosis exists, but I think hardly anyone is ever diagnosed with it, and I think they're mostly young children who do not yet display inattentive symptoms.
ADHD-Primarily Inattentive Type - A lot of people call this ADD, although the DSM diagnosis is ADHD-PI. Anyway, most are combined, followed by inattentives.
One thing about hyperactivity is that if adults don't show hyperactivity the way children do, at least not usually. I was pretty hyper as a child but as an adult, I'm mostly impulsive, when I really get going with the talking I can change subjects at high speed (one friend of mine told me he could barely keep up when I did this). Sometimes, if I go without caffeine too long, it gets very hard to think straight, as my thoughts are zooming around like pinballs and I can only catch each one for a few seconds. If it gets really bad, I am not even really able to form complete sentences verbally or in writing (this is pretty rare, though). I come across as more inattentive than combined, even though I have enough symptoms for a combined diagnosis, because most people don't really understand hyperactive symptoms in adults.