Characteristics and types of services received by children with two types of attention deficits

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition ( American Psychiatric Association, 1994) has differentiated children with at tentional deficits with hyperactivity from those with only attentional defi cits. Research has also found that children with Attention Deficit Hyperact ivity Disorder (ADHD) and children with Undifferentiated Attention Deficit Disorder (UADD) have different diagnostic characteristics, and different ps ychological outcomes. However, research has not investigated whether childr en with ADHD and children with UADD are treated differently educationally. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the types of medical and e ducational services received by children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivi ty Disorder (ADHD) and children with Undifferentiated Attention Deficit Dis order (UADD). Children with ADHD were reportedly diagnosed more than one ye ar earlier than were children with UADD. Interestingly, even though childre n were differentially diagnosed, we found that children with ADHD and child ren with UADD received similar educational and medical interventions. The i mplications of these findings are discussed.