attention deficit disorder

noun

: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

—abbreviation ADD

Examples of attention deficit disorder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, the ability to suppress or filter out stimuli—a function that individuals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or attention deficit disorder struggle with—develops in the brain as early as 16 weeks of gestation, per Wisner. —Daliah Singer, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Oct. 2024

Aberrant connectivity patterns accompany depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder, dementia and epilepsy. —Max Bertolero, Scientific American, 1 July 2019

For example, kids can become depressed, anxious, or show signs of behavior disorders or attention deficit disorders at this time. —Katherine Lee, Parents, 30 July 2024

Lyles has spoken openly about being diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and dyslexia as a kid and facing verbal abuse from his middle school classmates for his appearance. —Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 22 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1978, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

attention deficit disorder

noun

: a condition that is characterized by an inability to maintain attention or by excessively active and impulsive behavior or by a combination of both and that interferes with one's ability to function in school, home, work, or with others

Medical Definition

attention deficit disorder

noun

: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

In the early 1980s, the third DSM added a condition it called "attention deficit disorder", listing two types: attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity … and attention deficit disorder as the subtype without the hyperactivity. However, seven years later, a revised DSM (DSM-III-R) replaced ADD (and its two sub-types) with ADHD …

—Kathy Gibbs, Griffith University

—abbreviation ADD