Fourth Edition, September 2011

Anxiety Disorder
A mental disorder characterized by feelings of unease, 
tension, and distress, with an exaggerated fear of pos-
sible danger or misfortune, and often associated with 
signifi cant disruption to a person’s life, such as inability 
to hold down a job or use public transport. Examples 
of such disorders may include, phobias, panic attacks, 
and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Apathy
A lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern.
Asperger’s Syndrome
Asperger’s syndrome or Asperger disorder is an autism 
spectrum disorder that is characterized by signifi cant 
diffi
culties in social interaction, along with restricted 
and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests. 
It diff ers from other autism spectrum disorders by 
its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive 
development.
Attention
The ability to focus in a sustained manner on a particu-
lar stimulus or activity. A disturbance in attention may 
be manifested by easy distractibility, diffi
culty in fi nish-
ing tasks or in concentrating on work.
Attention Defi cit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, ADD)
Attention Defi cit Hyperactivity Disorder is a medical 
diagnosis disorder of executive functioning or the in-
ability to plan ahead or consider consequences, which 
can aff ect the ability to concentrate and learn. It is 
characterized by impulsivity, inattention, and hyper-
activity in various combinations.
Auditory hallucination
A hallucination involving the perception of sound, 
most commonly of voices.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Austism Spectrum Disorder (or Autism) is a spectrum 
of psychological conditions characterized by wide-
spread abnormalities of social interactions and com-
munication, as well as restricted interests and repeti-
tive behaviours.