Skip to main content

BROWN ATTENTION-ACTIVATION DISORDER (BAAD) SCALE

BROWN ATTENTION-ACTIVATION DISORDER (BAAD) SCALE

Found this on Dr-Bob message board. rating scale is from Dr. Thomas E. Brown, who has a site at drthomasebrown.com

BROWN ATTENTION-ACTIVATION DISORDER (BAAD) SCALE

(Note: in this report the term ADD-H is used to signify "Attention Deficit Disorder WITHOUT Hyperactivity")

The AAD (Attention Activation Disorder) construct includes problems in the following areas:

Activating and organizing to work
Sustaining attention and concentration
Sustaining energy and effort
Irritability, depressed mood, rejection sensitivity Activating recall of aims and learned information

"Bright children and adolescents who suffer from attention deficit disorder are at a special risk of having their ADD problems go unrecognized and untreated. Within a pattern of under-achievement, their natural intellectual abilities produce intermittent successes which can mask ADD problems, especially if the person is not hyperactive. This study involved a population of high-IQ children, adolescents, and adults who were underachieving and had symptoms of ADD-H.

Research by Lahey et al. (1988) has shown that Attention Deficit Disorder is not unidimensional and that a subgroup of ADD patients exhibits a pattern of inattention and sluggish tempo WITHOUT hyperactivity. Barkley (1990) has demonstrated that this subgroup also shows less aggression, impulsivity, and overactivity at home and at school, and more of a problem with memory, perceptual-motor speed, and central processing speed. Barkley has suggested that the symptoms of ADD-H are sufficiently different from those of ADHD to warrant considering these as two separate and unique disorders, rather than as subtypes of a single attention disturbance."

ACTIVATING AND ORGANIZING TO WORK

- Has difficulty getting started on tasks; e.g., homework,
reports.
- Feels overwhelmed; e.g., "No way I can do this now" by tasks
which should be managable.
- When first presented with many things to do, has difficulty
deciding which to do first and then getting started.
- Procrastinates excessively; keeps putting things off.
- Slow to react or get started; sluggish, slow moving, doesn't
just jump into things.
- Excessively perfectionist; has to get things "just so." - Sleeps very soundly; hard to wake up in the morning.
- Appears apathetic or unmotivated.
- Misunderstands directions for assignments or tasks.

SUSTAINING ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION

- When trying to pay attention to someone, e.g., class or
conversation, mind drifts off and briefly loses focus.
- Involuntary "spacing out" occurs intermittently when reading
or listening.
- Easily sidetracked; disrupts a task in progress and switches
to doing something else without any reason.
- When reading, loses track of what has just been read, so needs
to read it again.
- Easily loses track of the main point in reading books,
magazines, and newspapers.
- Gets lost in daydreaming, preoccupied with own thoughts.
- Easily distracted from a task by background noise or activities;
needs to check out whatever else is going on.
- Stares into space; seems "out of it." - Does not appear to be listening even when it is important
to do so.

SUSTAINING ENERGY AND EFFORT

- Feels sleepy or fatigued, even after having had adequate sleep.
- Unable to complete assignments or tests in allotted time; needs
extra time to finish adequately.
- Criticized by others as being "lazy." - Inconsistent quality of work; performance quite variable; e.g.,
high grades mixed with low grades for no apparent reason.
- Criticized by others for "not working up to potential." - Energy tends to fade quickly; "runs out of steam." - Needs to be reminded by others; e.g, teachers, to get started or
to keep working on assigned tasks.
- Starts tasks; e.g., homework assignments, chores, etc., but
doesn't finish them completely.

IRRITABILITY, DEPRESSED MOOD, REJECTION SENSITIVITY

- Easily irritated
- Sensitive to criticism from others. Feels it deeply or for a
long time, or gets overly defensive.
- Usually "laid back" in dealing with others but has outbursts
of intense anger.
- Has difficulty expressing anger appropriately to others.
- Mood is discouraged, depressed, "down." - Tends to be a loner among peers; keeps to self socially.
- Appears apathetic or unmotivated.

ACTIVATING RECALL OF AIMS AND LEARNED INFORMATION

- Information learned well on one day cannot be recalled easily
when it is wanted; e.g., knows material well on night before
test, but cannot recall it adequately for the next day.
- "Freezes" when taking tests or exams; for a while is unable to
get organized and begin.
- Forgets things which were intended to be done; e.g., turn off
appliances, return phone calls, keep appointments, do
assignments, etc.
- Has difficulty memorizing; e.g., vocabulary, math facts,
names, dates, etc.

-------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Thomas E. Brown, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Yale University
P.O. Box 6694
Hamden, CT 06517

Comments

Anonymous said…
I recently discovered Dr. Brown's book when looking for info on adult ADD. I've read Drs. Hallowel and Ratey's books, but Dr. Brown shows how this disorder affects so many more aspects of a person's life than just being easily distracted. This exerpt is like a description of myself! I wish I could find someone in my local area that uses his model to treat patients.

Popular posts from this blog

Insulin Resistance- cause of ADD, diabetes, narcolepsy, etc etc

Insulin Resistance Insulin Resistance Have you been diagnosed with clinical depression? Heart disease? Type II, or adult, diabetes? Narcolepsy? Are you, or do you think you might be, an alcoholic? Do you gain weight around your middle in spite of faithfully dieting? Are you unable to lose weight? Does your child have ADHD? If you have any one of these symptoms, I wrote this article for you. Believe it or not, the same thing can cause all of the above symptoms. I am not a medical professional. I am not a nutritionist. The conclusions I have drawn from my own experience and observations are not rocket science. A diagnosis of clinical depression is as ordinary as the common cold today. Prescriptions for Prozac, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, etc., are written every day. Genuine clinical depression is a very serious condition caused by serotonin levels in the brain. I am not certain, however, that every diagnosis of depression is the real thing. My guess is that about 10 percent of the people taking

Could Narcolepsy be caused by gluten? :: Kitchen Table Hypothesis

Kitchen Table Hypothesis from www.zombieinstitute.net - Heidi's new site It's commonly known that a severe allergy to peanuts can cause death within minutes. What if there were an allergy that were delayed for hours and caused people to fall asleep instead? That is what I believe is happening in people with Narcolepsy. Celiac disease is an allergy to gliadin, a specific gluten protein found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. In celiac disease the IgA antigliadin antibody is produced after ingestion of gluten. It attacks the gluten, but also mistakenly binds to and creates an immune reaction in the cells of the small intestine causing severe damage. There is another form of gluten intolerance, Dermatitis Herpetiformis, in which the IgA antigliadin bind to proteins in the skin, causing blisters, itching and pain. This can occur without any signs of intestinal damage. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is a similar autoimmune reaction to gliadin, however it usually involves the

Blue-blocking Glasses To Improve Sleep And ADHD Symptoms Developed

Blue-blocking Glasses To Improve Sleep And ADHD Symptoms Developed Scientists at John Carroll University, working in its Lighting Innovations Institute, have developed an affordable accessory that appears to reduce the symptoms of ADHD. Their discovery also has also been shown to improve sleep patterns among people who have difficulty falling asleep. The John Carroll researchers have created glasses designed to block blue light, therefore altering a person's circadian rhythm, which leads to improvement in ADHD symptoms and sleep disorders. […] How the Glasses Work The individual puts on the glasses a couple of hours ahead of bedtime, advancing the circadian rhythm. The special glasses block the blue rays that cause a delay in the start of the flow of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Normally, melatonin flow doesn't begin until after the individual goes into darkness. Studies indicate that promoting the earlier release of melatonin results in a marked decline of ADHD symptoms. Bett