[Attention deficit/hyperactivity (AD/HD)--development of terminology]

The aim of the present study is to discuss the terminology pertaining to children and adolescents who have been described as disruptive, hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive. Review of the literature covering this century reveals that the condition has been given numerous names, which have later been rejected. Initially the focus was on brain damage as the cause, but the foundation for this explanation gradually failed: the concept was discarded in the 1960s and was replaced by the interchangable terms hyperactivity disorder and minimal brain dysfunction. The latter was only a few years later replaced by attention deficit disorder in the US and hyperkinetic disorder everywhere else. Differences and similarities between diagnostic systems and their significance for diagnostic practice are discussed. Diagnosis should be based on interdisciplinary work and the use of standardized rating scales.