ABSTRACT
What is the nature of the condition, referred to as attention deficit disorder (ADD) or childhood hyperkinesis in this chapter? Recent categorical descriptions in diagnostic manuals are widely felt by clinicians to be misleading (e.g. ADD, minimal brain dysfunction, childhood hyperkinesis). Indeed in contrast to conditions like Parkinsonism, there is little clear knowledge of the underlying disorder. There are symptoms. But no single one is indispensable for diagnosis and the number necessary varies with the authority.
