Inattentive ADHD (ADHD-I) is different in many ways from the most commonly known type of ADHD which is called Hyperactive/impulsive ADHD or ADHD-HI. It is also different from the combined type of ADHD which is a combination of the Inattentive and Hyperactive type of ADHD.
Some ADHD experts have found it more expedient, for the purpose of deciding treatment, predicting adult outcomes, and classification purposes, to just treat the inattentive ADHD subtype as if they were the same as the combined subtype of ADHD but this is short sighted. Individuals with inattentive ADHD have different outcomes from the other subtypes of ADHD, may respond differently to ADHD treatment and may require different interventions than the other subtypes of ADHD.
Researchers are working on sorting out the specific genes that are involved in each subtype of Attention Deficity Hyperactivity Disorder and it is looking, increasingly, like the genes at work in inattentive ADHD are somewhat different than the genes at work in the other subtypes of ADHD. Only by finding the specific genes involved in inattentive ADHD, will ADHD-I get the validation that is needed. In the mean time, there has been work done using personality tests and other tests to arrive at an ADHD subtype diagnosis.
Personality tests can very accurately diagnose inattentive ADHD, combined type ADHD, and ADHD with conduct disorder. Individuals with ADHD-I are significantly less likely to be hyperactive and they are less likely to be exhibit outward signs of hostility, anger, oppositional behavior or aggression. Two studies just published indicate that temperament and activity level can very accurately predict the subtype diagnosis for ADHD. One study performed in Spain found that a personality inventory that measured Activity and Aggression allowed the researcher to properly classify 76 percent of individuals with ADHD-I.
Another study performed in England and just published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry looked at Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) personality traits, temperament and activity level of preschoolers and found that increased activity and emotionality accurate predicted the diagnosis of individuals with ODD and Combined type or hyperactive / impulsive subtype.
Behavioral checklist can provide a broad synopsis of the most prominent symptoms of individuals with Attention deficity disorder. Personality test add to the diagnostic picture and more sophisticated test such as functional MRI, functional brain scans, and computer test that measure activity and attention such as the ADHD Quotient system can flesh out the diagnoses even more thoroughly.
We may not need to wait for a genetic marker for Inattentive ADHD. It appears that personality tests as well as other diagnostic tools are readily available now and allow us to accurately distinguish between all the subtypes of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Inattentive type may not respond as well to the same treatment as Combined type or the Hyperactive Impulsive subtype but we will not fully understand this subtype of until individuals with ADHD-I are appropriately screened, identified and a correct diagnosis is made. s489 60 mg