History of ADHD

In this day and age, you would think that ADHDDysfunction". At the end of the decade, though,
has been around forever. The disorder itself hasthe name of the disorder was changed to
been around for quite some time, but it was only"Hyperkinetic Disorder of Childhood."
recently that it was given the name AttentionThe next event that occurred in relation of ADHD
Deficit Disorder. Before that, the disorder hadwas that new symptoms were added to the
various names that changed over the years.realm of the disorder. Along with hyperactivity,
In 1902, there is the first documented disorderadded symptoms were lack of focus and
relating to impulsiveness. This was in Britain, andspaceyness associated with impulsiveness.
the doctor who diagnosed the impulsive disorderImpulsiveness now included verbal, cognitive and
was named Dr. Still. He called this disorder "Defectmotor impulsiveness.
of Moral Control" and he believed that theIn 1980, the disorder was given its current name
diagnosed individual had a medical disorder beyondof Attention Deficit Disorder, with or without
their control.hyperactivity. This was documented in the
After this event, the next documentation ofDSM-III put out by the American Psychiatric
similar symptoms was in 1922. Here, theAssociation. ADD and ADHD were two different
symptoms we associate with ADHD were givendiagnoses.
the name "Post-Encephalitic Behavior Disorder."Next, in 1987, ADD was changed to Attention
What this title means I am not quite sure, butDeficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The American
that was the name during this time period.Psychiatric Associated noted that this was a
The next event in the history of ADHD was inmedical diagnosis, and not purely psychological.
1937, where Dr. Charles Bradley introduced theThey also noted that ADHD could cause
use of stimulants in children who werebehavioral issues.
hyperactive. I still find it interesting that stimulantsIn 1996, a new medication called Adderall was
were thought of to treat hyperactive childrenapproved by the FDA for the treatment of
when they were already bouncing off the walls.ADHD. After a period of time, it was deemed to
While it is true that stimulants calm hyperactivebe better at treating the disorder since it lasted
kids down, how did someone hypothesize thatlonger and was easier to come down off of. In
this would occur? After this, in 1956, Ritalin was1999, other medications were added to treat
introduced as the drug of choice to treatADHD such as Concerta and Focalin. In 2003,
hyperactivity.Strattera was introduced as the first ADHD
In the 1960s, stimulants were used by a widermedication that was not a stimulant. This drug
population. The only symptom that was reallyacted like an antidepressant, but increased the
documented at this point was hyperactivity. In theamount of norepinephrine in the brain.
early 1960s, the disorder was called "Minimal Brain