ABSTRACT
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) prior to the 1970s was considered a childhood disorder, which ultimately was outgrown with age. Although the majority of ADHD cases are of genetic origin, external factors which cause low birth weight, prematurity, or impaired central nervous system (CNS) development in-utero increase the risk of acquiring ADHD. ADHD was first defined in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-II for health professionals in 1968 as Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood. Prior to the publication of the DSM-II, clinicians broadly used terms such as minimal brain damage, minimal brain dysfunction, minimal brain disorder, and learning and behavioral disabilities to classify the symptoms of what eventually became known as Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood in 1968. Past history of ADHD is helpful in the diagnosis in childhood. Generally, ADHD symptoms may have been present in early childhood and presence of these past behaviors is helpful in the confirmation of the diagnosis.
