ADHD Assessment - What Happens When a Doctor Diagnoses ADHD?
Doctors will examine your symptoms and determine if they match the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition DSM-V. Most professionals will also conduct a medical interview using one or more ADHD rating scales.
It is recommended to find a professional who is specialized in diagnosing ADHD and is covered by your insurance plan. Contact an organization that supports local residents for a list of specialists.
Symptoms
When your pediatrician evaluates you for ADHD the doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and the history. He or she will also examine you to determine the physical basis of your disorder. This could be a vision problem, hearing loss or illness.
ADHD is characterized by difficulties paying attention or staying focused. This can result in careless mistakes and inability to finish tasks (e.g. chores or schoolwork). Children and teens with ADHD often have difficulty listening to others and are often distracted or snoozing. These issues can lead to issues in the workplace or at home, as well as in relationships in adults with ADHD.
Another symptom of ADHD is the difficulty in sitting still or being quiet for long periods of time. Some people with ADHD move around, fidget or squirm when waiting for others to arrive, or during the course of a meeting. They might also talk too much and interrupt others often.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition Text Revision of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5TR(tm) is used by doctors to establish their diagnoses. They assess whether a person has at least six traits of inattention or hyperactivity/impulsivity to determine what type of ADHD they have.
To determine if you have ADHD, your pediatrician will consider the way you behave in different settings such as at school or in other social settings. They will ask you, your family members as well as teachers and other caretakers to describe your behavior. They will also utilize checklists and scales to assess ADHD symptoms.
Your child may also undergo a physical exam or undergo tests for blood to rule out any other medical conditions, like an eye loss, hearing loss or a thyroid condition that may cause similar symptoms. A mental health professional can also assess your child's capacity to follow directions, concentrate and finish tasks.
Neuropsychological testing is not usually used to diagnose ADHD however it could be beneficial in certain situations. It involves measuring brain activity, like beta waves, by using an EEG or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Some studies suggest that individuals suffering from ADHD have less beta wave activity in the frontal lobes of their brains and that they generate too many theta waves.
Diagnosis
A doctor is able to diagnose ADHD by examining a patient's symptoms, his or her family history, and the results of various screening and assessment tools. These include rating scales, continuous performance tests and neuropsychological testing batteries (Table I). For each tool it is crucial to understand its sensitivity and specificity, which is the probability that the test correctly identifies those suffering from the disorder and those who don't.
Interviewing the patient is the first step in diagnosing ADHD. This is an hour-long session with a clinician who is asked about the symptoms they experience and previous experiences. A specialist might request caregivers and teachers to help gather information, particularly when diagnosing children. The doctor will go through the child's medical and school records and request parents and teachers to fill out questionnaires that parents and educators have completed.
For adults who are being evaluated for ADHD, the clinician might also request school records from the past to see if the person's symptoms began in the early years of childhood. He or she might also speak to the person's spouse, siblings and other acquaintances about their experiences with the individual. A specialist may want to interview people who have a good relationship with the person, such as former teachers or religious leaders.
To be diagnosed with ADHD in an adult or teen the person must exhibit multiple symptoms in a variety of environments, such as at school, home and at work. These symptoms must affect the person's ability to perform and cannot be explained by any other condition. For adolescents the symptoms must have been consistent and present since the time of their childhood. Adults must show at least five ongoing symptoms for at least 6 months. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition Text Revision of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5) contains criteria for determining the severity of the disorder.
Treatment
There are a variety of treatment options available if your child or adult is diagnosed with ADHD. These treatments may include medication, behavior therapy or a mix of both. Your doctor and you will decide what is right for you based on how many symptoms your child has and the length of time they've been having them. Your doctor will also rule other things out that could cause symptoms, like mental health conditions like depression and anxiety or medical conditions like thyroid issues.
It's important to speak to your child's teacher if you notice that your child is struggling at school. Teachers often spot ADHD symptoms in children and help determine if the issues are caused by ADHD or another reason.
Your assessment will likely consist of an interview with a clinician, the complete of ADHD symptom checklists and other questionnaires as well as medical history, psychological tests and information regarding family members and acquaintances. It's important to provide as much information about the difficulties you or your child are having as possible. This will enable your physician to be aware of the complexity of your situation and provide an accurate diagnosis.
Adults and teens over the age of 18 will have a similar assessment process, but symptoms will be assessed differently as they are usually connected to work or other activities. Your psychiatrist or psychologist may also ask you to explain the issues and how they affect your life. For instance, do your problems affect your work or social relationships? How much, if at all? This information will be used by your physician to determine if your symptoms are moderate or mild.
Psychosocial treatments for adults suffering from ADHD are usually more effective than medications. These treatments can help you and your family discover better ways to deal with your symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), for example can help you reframe negative thoughts and manage your emotions. Group and family therapy can help you learn new skills and strategies to improve your relationship with your partner or spouse. Before you try any medication, behavior training should be considered for young children and adolescents. This includes parent training on behavior management for children younger than 6 years old and other kinds of training and therapy for teens and adults.
Follow-up
As with any diagnostic procedure, the results of an adhd test should always be interpreted by a qualified physician. This ensures the person receives the appropriate treatment for their condition. It also minimises the risk of false positives, when a test suggests that someone has ADHD even though they don't. This can happen when the test used in an evaluation is not validated or the examiner does not have sufficient experience to interpret the results correctly.
When interpreting the results of an assessment for adhd the doctor will look at whether the symptoms are consistent with the patient's history and if they are sufficiently disruptive to their life. They will also consider the onset and persistence of the symptoms, as well being able to compare them with the mental age estimation (i.e., is the patient's behavior disproportionately 'below' or 'above' for their age).
Neuropsychological testing is helpful to assess ADHD symptoms, in addition to interviews with a psychologist and observation. Certain tests have been specially developed to evaluate the core symptoms of ADHD including hyperactivity, inattention and an impulsive nature. The Quantified Behavior Test for children (6-12 years) and the Qb+(c) for adults (12 years and older) are two of the tests. These tests use motion-tracking systems to measure head movement and produce measurements of activity, like the amount of time spent moving faster than 1 cm/s, distance and surface covered, as well as microevents like tiny movements of more than 1 millimeter. how do i get an adhd assessment calculate estimates of omissions and commission errors, two components of ADHD executive functioning problems.
It is vital that the physician conducts a thorough examination. They will inquire about the person’s health and development history, including their childhood as well as their work and school histories, family life, and the use of alcohol and drugs and other factors which may be contributing to symptoms. They will then use the SWAN, patient or parent ratings and objective cognitive testing to arrive at their diagnosis.