ADHD Diagnosis
Finding out if you have ADHD in adults can be trickier than diagnosing children. A good diagnosis starts with a clinical interview by an expert in ADHD.
You must bring any medical or academic documents to your appointment. It is also beneficial to bring rating scales and interviews that provide information regarding your symptoms.
Symptoms
A doctor will conduct a physical exam and interview you to determine if ADHD is present. The evaluator might inquire about a person's childhood and their family history, and use checklists to note symptoms. The evaluator will also review the records of work and school and may also want to speak with teachers or others who interact with the person.
The evaluator will use the official lists of symptoms for inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity to determine whether the person meets diagnostic criteria. The criteria include that the person must have experienced multiple symptoms for at least six months and occur in a variety of settings, like at school or at home. The examiner will also look for other ailments that could trigger similar symptoms, like anxiety, depression or a thyroid problem.
In adults, the evaluator will assess how severe the symptoms are and how they affect work or social life. The evaluator may also ask the individual what their feelings are about their symptoms and if they interfere with their daily activities.
Many people with ADHD struggle to remember if their problems started in childhood or later. This is why the specialist will usually interview someone who knows the person well, such as an adult sibling or spouse for an adult; a parent or teacher for children. The evaluator can use checklists to examine adults, as well as a list with behaviors for children.
Unlike in the past, the current guidelines for diagnosing ADHD state that an adult can't be diagnosed with ADHD unless symptoms were present before the age of 12. This change is designed to protect people who suffered from ADHD as children from being misdiagnosed with other disorders such as depression or anxiety.
Medical Histories
If you suspect that you or your child has ADHD the first step is to find an expert who can conduct an extensive assessment. Talk to your doctor or mental health specialist in your area for recommendations, or look up the phone book by "psychiatry" and "psychology." You can also join an adult ADHD support group, since many of them have worked with local specialists who are able to provide referrals.
During the ADHD diagnostic evaluation, a healthcare professional will review the person's medical and family history. They will ask whether the symptoms affect functioning in different settings, such as at home, at work, or in relationships. It is crucial to determine the severity of the symptoms since the APA's guidelines for ADHD state that symptoms must cause significant impairment in order to be classified as ADHD.
The healthcare professional will typically interview the person, but they might also request to talk to parents, siblings and friends who know him well. Some professionals will have people complete questionnaires or fill out rating scales, such as ADHD symptoms checklists and standardized behavior ratings. Teachers and other caregivers are often helpful sources of information, too.
The APA's Diagnostic Guidelines stipulate that symptoms should be frequent and impact performance. This is important because other disorders like mood disorders and learning disabilities may present similar to ADHD (Austerman 2015). Additionally an exam by a doctor could be performed to check for other possible causes for the symptoms, like thyroid problems, vision and hearing issues or the use of certain drugs like stimulants or sedatives.
what is an adhd assessment
In some instances there is a family history of ADHD is a major aspect in obtaining the diagnosis. It is a highly inheritable condition, and a careful examination of the patient's and relatives history can help determine if there is a familial pattern.
It is important that providers have a complete picture of the symptoms of their patients, which includes whether or not they are present at work, in school, or social situations. A provider should also determine the extent of how symptoms impact the patient's daily activities. This is more important than simply counting symptoms or looking at the intelligence of patients.
For teenagers and children doctors may conduct an interview with the teen or child and his or her parents. In many cases psychiatrists or pediatricians is a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. A mental health professional with extensive experience in ADHD is required to conduct a thorough interview for adults.
A thorough assessment includes a physical examination, which can help rule out certain conditions that may cause symptoms similar to ADHD. A complete medical record is also a must. For children, this may include medical and school records as well as a psychological evaluation by a school counselor or psychologist. For adults, old school records can be helpful in determining if symptoms started in childhood.
When diagnosing adults, it is important to consider how symptoms impact daily life. A thorough psychiatric examination could be required, including scoring scales and questions asked by caregivers and patients in addition to a clinical interview and referral to medical exam. Adults may also undergo a psychometric or neuropsychological test to determine the connection between their symptoms and learning disorders.
Interviews
A professional will talk to you or your child about problems at home, school and in the community. The doctor will also inquire about the child's or yours's medical or personal history, including family and friends and will look over any records that you might bring along including old school report cards. This information will help the doctor determine if you or your child should take a test to diagnose ADHD.
Your provider will use rating scales to identify if you or your child meets criteria for ADHD, including six established symptoms in the two main categories of the disorder -- inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. These ratings are typically taken over a six-month period, and cover both at home and school. The ratings must be done by people who are familiar with your your child's behaviors, such as teachers and religious leaders, scout and scout leaders, coaches and parents.
Children and adults who are diagnosed with ADHD have symptoms that are debilitating, and can hinder their daily functioning whether at school, work, or play. Symptoms must begin in the early years of childhood, usually before age 12. They cannot be caused by any other mental health disorder.
The sensitivity and accuracy of ADHD evaluations can be improved by using psychometric and neuropsychological tests that assess IQ and cognitive functioning. However, they should be used as part of an assessment process that includes a clinical interview and rating scales. These tests could include the administration of a standardized questionnaire, such as the ADHD Diagnostic Interview for Adults (DIVA), or a computer-based adaptive testing method that measures responses speed short-term memory, executive functions. In the near future, digital technology such as virtual reality for continuous performance tests as well as sensors for head movement may help to improve ecological validity of these ADHD assessment tools by giving the person being assessed to be immersed in their environment rather than sitting in an office for clinical evaluation.
Tests
If your physician or mental healthcare professional suspects ADHD they might refer you to an ADHD specialist. A thorough evaluation should consist of an extensive interview, data from other sources, such as your spouse or significant other, and standardized behavior rating scales for ADHD. The evaluator will conduct tests according to the clinical impression to check for any conditions that may be causing your symptoms. These include depression as well as learning disabilities or a medical illness.
To conduct an accurate ADHD evaluation, the assessor must determine if your symptoms significantly impact your life and functioning. The impairment can occur in a variety of settings, such as at home, at work, in school, or in your social interactions. The evaluator will inquire what your symptoms affected you in each situation. This will help the evaluator identify the cause and make treatment recommendations.
In addition to the symptom rating The comprehensive assessment usually includes one or more standardized performance test for ADHD. These tests are built on research that examines the behavior of people suffering from ADHD and those without. These instruments improve on the limitations of a traditional clinical interview since they focus more on specific behavior rather than an individual's overall functioning. These measures can also help evaluators identify when an individual is lying or trying to cheat the test, a problem that has been recognized for many years in the field of neuropsychological testing.
A thorough ADHD evaluation may include an examination of the brain or other neuroimaging techniques in addition to the typical test and symptom rating scales. However these tests aren't routinely used in a clinical setting due to the cost and expose the patient to radiation.