Hi there:

ADDitude actually has some great resources re: conditions related to and often confused with ADHD. Our spring issue had a great article about anxiety disorder, which shares some symptoms with ADHD but requires a unique treatment plan.

Even today, many women are misdiagnosed with depression because ADD is still thought of (wrongly) as a young male disorder.

Bipolar disorder is another tricky one.

And ADHD in children is sometimes accompanies by oppositional defiant disorder.

Here is more information about conditions related to ADHD. I see that we need to write an article on Aspergers!

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As a college disability counselor, I often see the ADHD diagnosis when it is probably Aspergers. It is a real disservice. In my experience the students present with similar executive function challenges, and over or under focusing, but those with Asperger present more anxiety/OCD and extreme hypersensitivity to one or more of the senses - smell, light, touch, sound, etc. They also struggle with social interaction, whereas the students with ADHD tend to be very social, just not always appropriate to time and place. The obsessions tend to be about topics of a technical/mathmatical/scientific nature, and are more like 'splinter skill' areas where they have lots and lots of detailed knowledge. I have seen students agitated by the standard ADHD meds, who have never been offered anti-anxiety medication that might be more appropriate. Too bad there is not better differential diagnosis.

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So many ADHD symptoms overlap with other mental health conditions. ODD is the one that bothers me the most, since someone who has ADHD does not intentionally defy authority figures. ODD is often an associative condition of ADHD, due to the frustration that builds inside of someone who is constantly distracted and impulsive. The ensuing negative feedback leads to a burgeoning hostile disposition.

As one mental health expert aptly stated, 'If you are going to have one of the mental health disorders mention in the DSM, it might as well be ADHD." Despite what some doomsayers maintain, there are many positive attributes of ADHD. On the other hand, some of the mental health issues mentioned on this thread have no redeeming value whatsoever. That is why an ADHD must be accurate!

Don Author-Dear Mary: My Life with ADHD

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