Taken from a Criteria compiled by ADHD Library

I have included this explanation for ADD/ADHD because I personally love things to do with Winnie the Pooh and Friends, also over the years since our son has been diagnosed we have often commented on the similarities of some of the characters from these stories and some of the people we know who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.

Over the years Simon has made various screen savers and games based on all of these characters - for no reason other than we kept finding the similarities and therefore these were quite often topics of conversation when he was working on these games and screensavers. Coincidence - or What??

Then while browsing the Internet I came across a website, ADHD Information Library, that appeared to have similar views as we did on this subject. However they had taken it a bit further than we ever had and written a type of diagnostic criteria based on the characters with one added bonus character of Taz the Tasmanian Devil which again is another comparison we have often used. Please check out their site by clicking on the link below to see more of their explanations.

Research literature, recent books, and common sense, all point to the fact that there are different types, or styles, of ADHD. In the past people would have referred to Attention Deficit Disorder: Inattentive Type, or Impulsive/Hyperactive Type, or a Combined Type. Today the diagnostic differences are a bit less clear, but the reality doesn't change.

Dr. Daniel Amen, from the Amen Clinic has written a great book on the subject, titled "Healing ADHD:The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 6 Types of ADD" where he uses his SPECT scans of patient's brain activity to help in making his six classifications. His classifications include these "Types" ...

The Different Types of ADHD: in Detail...

Classic ADD - Inattentive, distractible, disorganized. Perhaps hyperactive, restless and impulsive.

Inattentive ADD - Inattentive, and disorganized.

Over-focused ADD - Trouble shifting attention, frequently stuck in loops of negative thoughts, obsessive, excessive worry, inflexible, oppositional and argumentative.

Temporal Lobe ADD - Inattentive and irritable, aggressive, dark thoughts, mood instability, very impulsive. May break rules, fight, be defiant, and very disobedient. Poor handwriting and trouble learning are common.

Limbic System ADD - Inattentive, chronic low-grade depression, negative, low energy, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness.

Ring of Fire ADD - Inattentive, extremely distractible, angry, irritable, overly sensitive to the environment, hyperverbal, extremely oppositional, possible cyclic moodiness.

Classifications from the ADHD Information Library whose Clinical Director is Dr. Doug Cowan, are a bit different, and are based more on their clinical observation and experiences. They are based on the classic children's stories of Winnie the Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood.

Different Types, or Styles, of ADHD

Tigger Type ADD - Inattentive, impulsive, hyperactive, restless, bouncy. Tiggers like to bounce...

Eeyore Type ADD - Inattentive, with chronic low-grade depression. Eeyore says "Thanks for noticing me..."

Piglet Type ADD - Trouble shifting attention, excessive worry, easily startled, Piglet is nervous and worries...

Rabbit Type ADD - Trouble shifting attention, inflexible, argumentative. Rabbit tends his garden

Troubled Type ADD (slight difference but this is Taz) - Irritable, aggressive, impulsive, defiant, disobedient. Learning problems.

Tiggers Like to Bounce... Bouncin' is What Tiggers Do Best!

They call this type of ADHD "Tigger Type." Classic ADHD is characterized by Inattention, Impulsivity, Hyperactivity, Restlessness, and Disorganization. This type of ADHD reminds us of Tigger from the Winnie the Pooh stories.

Dr. Daniel Amen refers to this type of ADHD as "Classic ADHD" for good reasons. When you think about someone who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, this is the classic picture that you think of.

Those with this type of ADHD are often seen as:

Being easily distracted
Has a LOT of energy, and is perhaps Hyperactive
Can't sit still very long
Is fidgety
Talks a LOT, and can be LOUD
Is very impulsive, does not think before he acts
Has trouble waiting his turn in line, or in games
and more...

Tigger Type ADHD results from UNDERACTIVITY in the Prefrontal Cortex, both when at rest, and when performing concentration tasks.

This type of ADHD is most often seen in males.