Researchers have devised a new testing method, by which, the accuracy and efficiency of identifying Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in young children could improve by 30 per cent.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (formerly known as ADD), is a neurological condition that causes children to lose focus and behave in ways that, if untreated, may make it difficult for them to successfully participate in school, social and family life. Its symptoms include poor attention span, distraction, getting easily bored, difficulty with details, careless mistakes, forgetfulness, hyperactivity, and failure to follow instructions, among others.

The researchers, based at Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, trialed the efficacy of specific brain function related tests in detecting ADHD in 175 children/adolescents with ADHD and 175 normal counterparts.

They found out that they could pinpoint young people with ADHD with 96 per cent accuracy through the tests, which detected variations in sustained attention, impulsivity, inhibition, intrusions and response variability.

This accuracy level also means that unaffected children or adolescents will be not falsely detected. Previous tests that focus only on attention, with around 70 per cent accuracy, have only been able to identify ADHD.

Leanne Williams, the U-S professor of cognitive neuropsychiatry, says, "Our study has shown for the first time that there is a biological basis to ADHD which can be reliably tested to diagnose it".

The research findings appear in the February edition of Pediatric Neurology.