My daughter has ADHD hyperactive type my son had ADD Inattentive type (which is now called ADHD Inattentive) The difference betweent he two is remarkable.
My daughter ADHD hyperactive acts as if she runs on a motor, she was an active baby and when she crawled, she crawled fast and furious and into everything, when she walked she ran. She started throwing tantrums before she could walk, wild, furious tantrums!!! She was the kid that ran away from us in public, tried to hide under the clothing racks in the stores, refused to stay in a stroller for long, we could not go to restaurants anymore because she could not sit and behave. Discipline methods that worked with other children did not work with her, she didn't care. Discipline that worked one day, one hour, one minute did not work the next! She was and is full of life, always laughing, interested in everything, very creative, makes lots and lots of fun, life IS about fun. She is extremely smart and learns quickly and gets bored quickly. Does not stay focused, she starts lots of art projects and starts to write stories but never finishes them before starting the next, she is disorganized and MESSY. Talks, Talks, Talks and Talks some more! She is 8 years old and she never stops talking. She is very reactive, explodes and stubborn. At the same time very sensitive. She cannot just settle down at bedtime, she needs to do a project in bed before she can fall asleep. At school she is a perfectionist, she never forgets anything. I Love her, she is so interesting and full of life, everyone who knows her loves her she is so special and like no one else. Thinks outside the box. But, at the same time might put me in the insane asylum someday LOL!!!
My son, inattentive type ADD Always a good little baby who slept through the night at a few weeks old. On time with his milestones but he was not in a hurry to master them. As a toddler he could play with the same toy for a very long time. He would play with Thomas the Train for hours. We could go out to dinner and he would sit quitely, we were even complimented on his manners when he was a toddler. Loves sports and really good at them especially basketball and soccer. In school, never put much effort into anything. He loves to read and verbally he is very smart with a large vocabulary his written work is sloppy and rushed. He forgets EVERYTHING, homework, books at school, notices, leaves lunch boxes and coats at school etc...He cannot stay focused or on task. He daydreams all the time. It takes him HOURS to get a chore done such as yard work that he does not want to do (because it is overwhelming to him), he gets distracted by the littlest thing over and over again. It is painful to watch. He is disorganized and his backpack and room is MESSY. He is quiet. He is well like by the kids at school and is popular and he is a star basketball player. He is smart but does not like doing school work, does not put effort into it, his work is sloppy and he cannot pay attention. Inattentive ADHD: Lack of focus, can't stay on task, disorganized, not only disorganized with things but disorganized with thoughts and actions, forgetful, daydreams, not hyper, may appear lazy but is not) Verbally he is extremely intelligent. He sleeps well once he falls asleep at night but, sometimes it takes him hours to fall asleep and it is not because he is playing, he is really trying to go to sleep (insomnia, sx of ADHD) He is a pre-teen now. Moody, moody, moody but in a quiet way. He is kind, gently, well liked, oh did I mention he has a great sense of humour and makes everyone laugh, it is a nice sense of humour that both kids and adults can relate to. I Love him so much. But he is infuriating, trying to get something done is painful. He is like a mule, stubborn. We are currently seeking the right treatment plan for him.
Kids and Adults with ADHD are very special people. They are the artist, CEOs and inventors of our world. The think outside the box and with the right intervention grow up to be very successful people. They are magnetic!!!
Good resources:
Driven to Distraction by Edward Hallowell
Answers to Distraction by Edward Hallowel
ADHD by Barkley
CHADD.com
additudemagazine.com
goaskmom.com (strictly inattentive adhd)
And this site has a lot of caring, intelligent mom's touched by someone with ADHD in their lives
I just want to add, each person with ADHD is an individual they may have a mixture of the two types, some traits of one type and not the other, may be affected mildly or severly etc...
Take care,
L.