7 Types of ADHD | Type 6: Ring of Fire ADD

Ring of Fire ADD

YafaYafa Crane Luria
Teacher | Author | Positive Discipline Trainer
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What characterizes Ring of Fire ADD?

From Dr. Amen: While the Inattentive brain is characterized by underactivity in the Pre-frontal cortex, Ring of Fire ADD is characterized by overall hyperactive brain activity.

Possibly correlated with early bipolar disorder, allergies, or inflammation, Ring of Fire ADD is often the most intense type—overfocused symptoms such as worrying and obsessiveness, oppositional behavior, distractibility, hypersensitivity to the environment, and mood instability are common.  This type is often made much worse with stimulant medications alone.

Bipolar or ADD?

In order to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder as an adult, a person needs to have a manic episode (pressured speech, trouble sitting still, irritability, decreased need for sleep, grandiose ideas, periods of hypersexuality, extreme impulsivity, and sometimes even psychotic experiences, such as hallucinations or delusions).

People with Ring of Fire ADD do not have manic episodes—their behavior tends to be consistent over long periods of time.

  • Bipolar children tend to cycle in their mood and behavior problems.  They have times when they are awful, irritable, and aggressive, yet also have times when things are relatively normal.
  • Ring of Fire ADD kids have problems on a consistent basis.

People can have both Ring of Fire ADD and Bipolar Disorder, and some studies suggest that as many as half of the people with bipolar disorder also meet the criteria for ADD.

  • People with this type often see too much, think too much, feel too much, and sense too much—distractibility, hypersensitivity, and anxiety can be especially heightened.
  • This type is made worse with stimulant and serotonergic (serotonin enhancing) medications alone.
Traits:Ring of Fire ADD
  • Inattentive
  • Easily distracted
  • Irritable
  • Overly sensitive
  • Cyclic moodiness
  • Oppositional
  • Periods of increased talkativeness
  • May or may not be hyperactive

If you go to the Amen Clinics website, you can find SPECT Scans that show how treatment can create noticeable changes in brain function!

My experience with coaching Ring of Fire ADD

I have to say I don’t think I’ve ever coached anyone with Ring of Fire ADD. I would imagine that it would be excruciating living unmedicated with this type of ADD. The world would seem so aggressive, I think, that one might feel the need to attack or hide at any given moment.

When I taught kids with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, they had so little control over themselves. None of them were medicated and they were constantly looking for some stimulation. It was like they were starving for food. They would try everything to stay stimulated. The trick, as a teacher, was to help them feel stimulated by productive activities because otherwise they could tear apart a classroom!

I think this is best diagnosed by an expert and not by anyone that’s not licensed as a diagnostician. It’s easy to say, “Well, I’m sensitive to light and noise and touch,” but Ring of Fire ADHD is something else altogether. While we might resonate with some of the symptoms, what is significant is the intensity of those symptoms, and that can only be assessed by an expert.

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Take this assessment to get some idea of your or your child’s type of ADD/ADHD. This is not a substitute for medication, seeing an Medical Doctor or Naturopathic Doctor, or getting the therapeutic or coaching help that you or your family might need.

(My information comes from ADDitude Magazine, Smart Kids with LD, Amen Clinics, and from my own experience as a former teacher and school counselor, and current ADHD Coach and Strategist.

xo, Yafa

Copyright 2017 Yafa Crane Luria All Rights Reserved


Yafa Crane LuriaAbout Yafa Crane Luria

Yafa Crane Luria is a 30-year veteran teacher and school counselor, a Positive Discipline Trainer, and the author of the Mom’s Choice Award®-Winning book: How To Train Your Parents in 6 ½ Days and the Amazon Kindle Best Seller: Getting Schooled: 102 Practical Tips for Parents, Teachers, Counselors, and Students about Living and Learning with ADHD. She was diagnosed with ADHD (then called “Minimal Brain Dysfunction”) in 1980, one of the first to be diagnosed as an adult. Yafa specializes in helping ADHD families who have tried everything and are still frustrated by their child’s or teen’s Blocked but Brilliant brain. Fun fact: Yafa’s nickname as a child was “Mountain Goat” because she climbed on EVERYTHING! She can be reached at her website: BlockedToBrilliant.com

To read about the other types of ADHD view all posts by Yafa Crane Luria here.

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Ring of Fire ADD

19 Comments on “7 Types of ADHD | Type 6: Ring of Fire ADD”

  1. Hi there, I’m wondering if ring of fore ADHD could ever be mistaken for reactive attachment disorder?

    1. Hi I am an adult who has struggled with the ring of fire my whole life along with rad it is possible to have both and no in my opinion they are so very different to be confused with each other

  2. what supplements would you recommended for type ring of fire, and are amphetimines appropiate for this. thank you

      1. Hi Renee, it’s not posting my responses… Roseann, I cannot recommend meds because I am not a considered a health professional but rather a parent educator. It’s important to see a doctor for this information.

    1. Hi Roseann, this information was gathered from different sites. I am not a doctor or a health professional so I could not suggest medication as it is illegal for me to do so. It’s important that you contact a doctor or psychiatrist. Thanks!

    2. Hi Roseann, I can’t recommend meds as I am not a doctor or a licensed health professional. I gathered this information for readers, but recommend seeing a doctor for specifics. Thanks for reading!

  3. Hello my name is Cathy Esland.I have a son that at the time was three and was diagnosed with ADD he took medicine for it because he couldn’t stay focused in the class room and was sleeping in the class room standing up and sitting down.But he would do okay over the weekend and holiday so the doctor took him off the medicine.That son is now twenty-five and aggressive, abusive, hypersexual he has pushed me down and buried my rib and arm had to go to the hospital can you help to help him it is spinning out of control now.

    1. Hi Cathy, I am sorry to hear about the troubles with your son. I’m sure you are not alone! I am going to direct this question to Yafa, as she is the expert in this subject matter. We hope she is able to help and wish you the best of luck with your son!

  4. THis category fits my daughter to a T! I have seriously always thought that she was actually bi polar and not adhd, but she has a little bit of both diagnosis’s. She also responds horribly to stimulant medication :( What is a recommendation for treatment. Amino acids, magnesium, etc? Thank you!

    1. Hi Brittany, I am not licensed to recommend treatment, but I would suggest going to a Naturopathic Doctor (N.D.) or to the Amen Clinic closest to you to seek alternative treatment and to consult. Thanks for reading! xo, Yafa

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