Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Disorder—Residual Type

To the Editor.—  We read with great interest the exchange between Wender et al¹ and Mattes² regarding the value of stimulant medication for relieving the symptoms of attention-deficit disorder—residual type (ADDRT).While it is clear that much additional work will be necessary before a stimulant-responsive subgroup of adults with ADD can be identified, we would like to share some of our experiences in identifying patients with ADDRT. In preparation for submitting a research proposal on alcoholic patients with ADDRT, we screened 32 subjects both with a childhood symptom checklist validated by DeObaldia and Parsons³ and with DSM-III criteria. We found no relationship between the childhood symptom checklist and DSM-III, when strictly applied. By contrast, a significant relationship (X² =15.18; df=1; P<.001) was found when DSMIII criteria were loosely applied. The meaning we gather from these findings is that careful attention should be devoted to