Is the Diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders Meaningful?
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-1994
Description
This research examines 75 children, previously diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders (AD/HD), referred to a multidisciplinary medical setting because of unsatisfactory response to medical or educational interventions. Systematic descriptive data from parents and teachers have been compared with the 14 symptoms characterizing the AD/HD syndrome in the DSM‐III‐R (APA, 1987). The initial reasons for referral have been reexamined using an extended list of diagnostic descriptors, and nearly one‐third of this study's diagnosed AD/HD group has been reclassified with mental disorders. The comorbidity among AD/HD symptoms, other mental disorders, and information‐processing deficits (learning disabilities) has rendered 8 of the 14 AD/HD symptoms useless in accurately describing the presenting behaviors. An extended list of emotional and information‐processing behavioral descriptors seems necessary if a meaningful diagnosis of AD/HD is to be achieved. Diagnostic considerations are discussed, and AD/HD as a single entity using the 14 DSM‐III‐R (APA, 1987) behavioral descriptors is critically challenged. The data support the changes in DSM‐IV (APA, 1994), which differentiate predominately inattentive type from hyperactive‐impulsive type disorders, while altering and adding several new behavioral descriptors. Further differentiation is now needed among behaviors isolated and specific to AD/HD, isolated and specific to other developmental or mental disorders, and comorbid and generalized across conditions.
Citation Information
Sabatino, David A.; and Vance, Hubert Booney. 1994. Is the Diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders Meaningful?. Psychology in the Schools. Vol.31(3). 188-196. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6807(199407)31:3<188::AID-PITS2310310303>3.0.CO;2-2 ISSN: 0033-3085