Post by Admin on Jan 31, 2014 18:20:19 GMT -6
I was looking through the new DSM-5 and noticed some changes from DSM-IV-TR when diagnosing ADHD. First, the age of onset has changed from exhibiting several symptoms prior to the age of 7 to showing several symptoms prior to the age of 12. This is in line with what Dr. Russell Barkley said several years ago. He found that some individuals showed more inattention symptoms as they got older (i.e., between 7 and 12 years), whereas hyperactive-impulsive symptoms tended to occur earlier for the combined type. Interesting too is that the wording for subtypes has been changed to "Predominantly _____ presentation." The change in age of onset may increase the number of children diagnosed with ADHD. The symptoms listed also have examples to illustrate them now. For example, the symptom Is often "on the go" and "acting as if driven by a motor" has the example of (e.g., is unable to be or uncomfortable being still for extended time, as in restaurants, meetings; may be experienced by others as being restless or difficult to keep up with). In addition, the number of symptoms required for a diagnosis is now fewer for older adolescents and adults (i.e., 5 inattention & 5 hyperactive-impulsive). Reducing the number of required symptoms for older adolescents and adults will likely increase the rate of diagnosis for this part of the population. Finally, instead of the NOS category in DSM-IV-TR, there are now two specifiers when individuals don't quite meet the diagnostic criteria. The first is called "Other Specified ADHD", when you choose to state the reasons why criteria weren't met, while the other is called "Unspecified ADHD", when you choose not to explain why criteria weren't met. Another interesting fact is the gender differences. ADHD has a male to female ratio of 2:1 in children, with females being more likely to have the predominantly inattentive presentation.