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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review the professional literature related to the identification of causes and characteristics of attention deficit disorder (ADD) in school-age learners. Forty-eight articles and books written by leading authors in the field were synthesized to determine the extent of agreement regarding the characteristics and causes of this frequently used label. A total of 69 characteristics and 38 causes were cited, evidencing no clear-cut pattern for identifying the condition and little agreement for what causes ADD. Implications for current practices of diagnosis and treatment as well as future research directions are discussed.