attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

noun

variants or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

: attention deficit disorder

—abbreviation ADHD

Examples of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gabriel said he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a child, and his own son has the same neurodevelopmental disorder. —Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024

Other people have a sensory sensitivity (often from sensory processing disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or autism). —Amy Paturel, WIRED, 24 Mar. 2024

While there are conditions that cannot be officially diagnosed until adulthood, children experience many, like anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). —A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez, Parents, 23 Mar. 2024

Tallulah also spoke about having depression and being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and borderline personality disorder. —Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2024

Many of these children have been over-diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. —Nina Shapiro, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023

High or low dopamine levels are associated with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and restless leg syndrome. —David A. Brenner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2023

Solan certainly had his mental-health struggles — attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety, as well as trauma from his early childhood, before he was adopted. —Rachel Lauren Mueller, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2022

Some research has also found an association between intrusive thoughts and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and body dysmorphic disorder. —Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 23 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

noun

variants or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

: attention deficit disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the most common pediatric psychiatric condition, estimated to affect 2 percent to 9 percent of American children, mostly boys.

—Susan Gilbert, The New York Times

… the drug that has come to symbolize our particular predicaments is Ritalin, the widely prescribed treatment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or attention-deficit disorder, as it is more popularly known.

—Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker

Discoveries in neuroscience are reinforcing a growing consensus that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as it is officially known, is not just a set of behavior problems but a biologically based disorder of brain function.

—Harvard Mental Health Letter

—abbreviation ADHD