Abstract

Changes in the definition of ADHD in DSM-5: subtle but important

Author(s): Jeffery N Epstein, Richard EA Loren

While there were earlier descriptions of children with high levels of activity and impulsivity , what is now called ADHD first appeared in the American Psychiatric Association’s DSMâ�?�?�?�?II in 1968. In DSMâ�?�?�?�?II, the disorder was termed hyperkinetic reaction of childhood, which as the name implies focused primarily on symptoms of excessive motor activity. With the publication of DSMâ�?�?�?�?III in 1980, the disorder was markedly reconceptualized with a focus on problems with attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity, and was renamed attention deficit disorder (with and without hyperactivity).