NOTE: Consider a criterion met only if the behaviour is considerably more frequent than that of most people of the same mental age.
A. A chronic disturbance in which at least twelve of the following are present:
l. A sense of underachievement, of not meeting one’s goals (regardless of how much one has actually accomplished).
2. Difficulty getting organised.
3. Chronic procrastination or trouble getting started.
4. Many projects going simultaneously; trouble with follow through.
5. A tendency to say what comes to mind without necessarily considering the timing or appropriateness of the remark.
6. A frequent search for high stimulation.
7. An intolerance of boredom.
8. Easy distractibility, trouble focusing attention, tendency to tune out or drift away in the middle of a page or a conversation, often coupled with an ability to hyperfocus at times.
9. Often creative, intuitive, highly intelligent.
10. Trouble in going through established channels, following “proper” procedure.
11. Impatient; low tolerance of frustration.
12. Impulsive, either verbally or in action, as in impulsive spending of money, changing plans, enacting new schemes or career plans, and the like; hot-tempered.
13. A tendency to worry needlessly, endlessly; a tendency to scan the horizon looking for something to worry about, alternating with in attention to or disregard for actual dangers.
14. A sense of insecurity.
15. Mood swings, mood lability, especially when disengaged from a person or a project.
16. Physical or cognitive restlessness.
17. A tendency toward addictive behaviour.
18. Chronic problems with self-esteem.
19. Inaccurate self-observation.
20. Family history of ADD or manic-depressive illness or depression or substance abuse or other disorders of impulse control or mood.
B. Childhood history of ADD. (It may not have been formally diagnosed, out in reviewing the history, one sees that the signs and symptoms were here.)
C. Situation not explained by other medical or psychiatric condition.
Last Modified April 29 2007