Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT)

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT), also called concentration deficit disorder: Up to half of ADHD-predominantly inattentive type cases appear to have a qualitatively different form of attention problem, called SCT by researchers — with some arguing it may represent a separate disorder. Identified in the mid-1980s, doctors are still trying to understand it and why it happens. SCT symptoms show numerous differences from prominently inattentive type, including excessive:

• Daydreaming, spacey appearance, staring
• Hypoactive, slow moving, lethargic, confused/“foggy”
• Slow, error-prone information processing,
• Poor/selective attention
• More erratic retrieval from long-term memory
• Socially reticent, withdrawn
• Not impulsive, not aggressive
• Greater risk of anxiety, possibly depression
• Equally impaired in educational performance
• 20%-50% have learning disabilities
• Less likely response to stimulant