A British pediatrician first described ADHD-like behavior in 1902 as an "abnormal defect of moral control." The condition became a mental disorder in the 1960s, was called ADD in the 1980s, and got its current name ADHD in 1987 with three subtypes: inattentive, hyperactive, and combined.
How long has ADHD been around? Well, the first inclination of what we now call ADHD was in 1902. This is when a British pediatrician called it— hold on, I have to look at my notes— an abnormal defect of moral control in children. So that was 1902. In the 1960s, it was considered to be a mental disorder. In the 1980s, the diagnosis was updated to be attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity. And then in 1987, it was updated to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. So even when a lot of times you'll hear people now say ADD for attention deficit disorder, officially there's no ADD. It's ADHD and it's either inattentive ADHD, which is what we used to call ADD, or hyperactive ADHD, or combined type.
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