ADHD Terminology: What the Words in Reports and Articles Actually Mean
The first thing many people notice when they start reading about ADHD is the vocabulary. Evaluation reports, school documents, and even news articles use a set of terms that are rarely defined in place. This page defines the ones that come up most, so the rest of your reading makes sense. It defines words; it does not tell you whether any of them apply to you or your child — that is an evaluator's job.
The name itself
ADHD stands for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. You will still see the older term ADD (attention deficit disorder) in casual use and in older documents — this domain's own name is a relic of that era — but ADD is no longer a separate diagnosis. The National Institute of Mental Health describes ADHD as a disorder marked by patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that interfere with functioning or development. What used to be called ADD is now folded into ADHD as one of its presentations.
Presentations
Modern clinical language describes three presentations rather than separate conditions:
- Predominantly inattentive presentation — the pattern centers on attention and organization rather than physical restlessness. This is the successor to the old "ADD" label.
- Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive presentation — the pattern centers on restlessness and acting without pausing.
- Combined presentation — features of both.
CHADD, the national ADHD nonprofit, explains that a person's presentation can change over time, which is one reason reports say "presentation" rather than "type."
Words that describe thinking and behavior
Executive function is an umbrella term for the mental skills involved in planning, starting tasks, holding information in mind, and managing time. You will see it constantly in evaluation reports and school documents.
Impulsivity means acting without the pause most people insert before a decision — interrupting, blurting, grabbing. Hyperactivity refers to excess movement or restlessness relative to what a situation calls for; in adults it often appears in reports as internal restlessness rather than visible motion.
Comorbidity (or "co-occurring condition") means a second condition present alongside the first. Clinical resources such as the AACAP ADHD Resource Center discuss co-occurring conditions because evaluators routinely check for them — it is a standard part of a thorough evaluation, not a sign that something extra is wrong.
Words you meet in the process
A neurodevelopmental disorder is a condition involving how the brain develops; ADHD is classified as one. Onset refers to when a pattern first appeared — evaluators ask about childhood even when evaluating adults, because ADHD by definition begins in development.
The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is the reference American clinicians use to define diagnoses; when a report cites "DSM-5 criteria," it means the evaluator applied that manual's definitions. A rating scale is a standardized questionnaire — often filled out by parents, teachers, or the person being evaluated — that turns observations into comparable scores. It is one input to an evaluation, never the whole thing.
Psychoeducation simply means being taught about a condition — many treatment plans list it first.
Where to go deeper
For definitions with clinical depth behind them, the MedlinePlus ADHD page is a government-curated hub linking vetted explanations of each concept. If a term in a report still doesn't make sense after that, write it down and ask the clinician who wrote it — our guide to how evaluations work includes question-asking as a normal, expected part of the process.