ADHD Diagnosis
Adults can be more difficult to identify than children. A clinical interview with an ADHD expert is the first step in obtaining getting a reliable diagnosis.
Bring any medical or academic records to your appointment. You may bring questionnaires and rating scales that give details about your symptoms.
Signs and symptoms
A thorough ADHD diagnosis is based on physical examination and a discussion with a physician. The evaluator may ask questions about the person's childhood and family history and use checklists to document symptoms. The evaluator may also look over documents from the workplace and school, and may wish to speak with teachers or other people who are close to 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 are that the individual must have been suffering from multiple symptoms for at least six months, and that they occur in a variety of settings for example, at school or at home. The evaluator may also be looking for other conditions that can cause similar symptoms, for example depression, anxiety or a thyroid problem.
In adults the evaluator will determine how severe the symptoms are and how they impact work or social life. The evaluation will also inquire how the person feels about his or her symptoms and how they interfere with daily functioning.
Many people with ADHD struggle to remember if their problems began in childhood or later. A specialist will often interview someone who is familiar with the individual, for example, their spouse, sibling, or parent for an adult or a teacher or parent of children. The evaluation expert might use checklists to assess adults and a list of child-related behaviors.
Contrary to the previous guidelines for diagnosing the adult can't be diagnosed with ADHD until symptoms are present prior to the age of 12. This change is meant to stop people suffering from ADHD who were diagnosed as children from being misdiagnosed as having other disorders, such as depression or anxiety.
Medical History
If you suspect your child or yourself has ADHD the first step is to seek out an expert who will perform a thorough evaluation. Consult your doctor or mental health specialist in your area for recommendations, or look up the phone book by "psychiatry" and "psychology." You can also contact a support group for adults with ADHD because many of them will have worked with local experts who could provide recommendations.
A healthcare professional will go over the person's medical history as well as background information regarding the family during the ADHD diagnostic evaluation. They will ask how the symptoms interfere with functioning in different settings, such as at home, at work, or in relationships. It is important to assess the severity of the symptoms because the APA's guidelines for diagnosing ADHD note that the symptoms have to cause significant impairment in order to be diagnosed.
The healthcare professional will typically interview the patient, but they may also talk to parents, siblings, and other family members who know him well. Some healthcare professionals will ask patients to fill out questionnaires or scales. These include ADHD symptoms checklists and ratings of behavior. Teachers and other caregivers can be valuable sources of information.
The APA's Diagnostic Guidelines state that symptoms must be frequent and interfere with performance. This is important because other conditions like mood disorders and learning disabilities, may be similar to ADHD (Austerman, 2015). A medical examination can be done to determine if there are other possible causes for the symptoms. This could be thyroid issues, vision or hearing issues, or prescription medications such as stimulants and sedatives.
Family History
In certain instances, a history of ADHD in the family could be a major factor the determination of the diagnosis. It is highly inherited and a review of the patient's and their relatives' histories will help determine if there is any pattern of inheritance in the family.
It is important for providers to get a complete picture of the patient's symptoms including whether they occur at work, school or in social settings. A healthcare professional must also consider the extent to which the patient's symptoms interfere with everyday functioning. This is a more reliable measure than simply looking at the number of symptoms or looking at a patient's IQ.
A doctor may interview the child or teen and also the parents. In many instances, a psychiatrist or pediatrician is a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. For adults, a thorough interview is required by a mental health specialist who has extensive experience with ADHD and takes the time to carefully evaluate each patient's presentation.
A thorough evaluation includes a physical exam, which can help rule out certain conditions that could cause symptoms similar to ADHD. A complete medical history is also obtained. For children, this may include medical and school records and a psychological evaluation by a school counselor or psychologist. For adults, old school records are often useful in establishing if symptoms started in childhood.
In the case of diagnosing adults in particular, it is crucial to examine how the symptoms affect the daily activities. Click To See More is also possible that includes the use of questionnaires and rating scales by the patient and their caregivers, a psychotherapy interview, and a referral for medical examination. Additionally assessment of neuropsychological or psychometric factors is often used for adults in order to see how the symptoms are linked to learning disorders and other cognitive impairments.
Interviews
A provider will interview you or your child about their issues at home, at school, and in the community. The provider will also ask about your or your child's past medical, family and personal history and will look over any records you bring along, such as old school report cards. This information will help the doctor decide whether you or your child is eligible to undergo a test to determine 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 usually taken over a period of six months, which includes both home and school. The ratings should be provided by those who know your child or you well, such as coaches, teachers as well as religious leaders, scouts, and parents.
To be diagnosed with ADHD children and adults must have symptomatic behavior that is debilitating and interferes with everyday functioning in a variety of environments, including school, at work or playing. The signs should be evident in early childhood, typically before the age of 12. They aren't caused by another mental health issue.
Psychometric and neuropsychological tests to measure IQ, brain function and cognitive functioning can improve the accuracy and sensitivity of ADHD evaluations. However, they should only be utilized as part of an assessment plan that includes a clinician interview and rating scales. These assessments can involve the administration a standardized test like the ADHD Diagnostic Interview for Adults or a computerized testing method that tests executive functions, short-term memory, and response speed. In the future digital technology, such as virtual reality and head sensors that monitor head movements for continuous performance tests, can help improve the validity of ecological tests by permitting people to immerse themselves in their natural surroundings instead of sitting in a clinic office.
Tests
Your doctor or a mental health specialist may recommend you to specialists if he/she suspects ADHD. A complete evaluation will include an extensive interview, data from other sources like your spouse or significant others, as well as the standardized scales of behavior ratings for ADHD. Depending on the clinical impression the evaluator could also request tests to check for other conditions that could influence your symptoms, like depression, learning disabilities, or a medical condition.
A thorough ADHD evaluation is required by the evaluator to determine whether your symptoms are seriously affecting your life and performance. The impairment could occur in a variety of settings such as at home, at work, in school, or even in your social connections. The evaluator will inquire what your symptoms affected you in every situation. This will allow the evaluator to make a diagnosis and develop treatment recommendations.
In addition to the symptom ratings The complete assessment typically includes one or more performance tests that are standard for ADHD. These tests are founded on research that examines the behavior of people suffering from ADHD and those who do not. They enhance the effectiveness of an interview with a clinician by focusing on specific behavior instead of assessing a person's overall performance. These measures can help evaluators identify when an individual is lying or is trying to cheat the test, a problem that has been recognized for many years in the field of neuropsychological testing.
In addition to the standardized test and the symptom-rating scales as well as the symptom rating scales, an extensive ADHD assessment should include brain scans or other neurological imaging procedures. These tests are not used in clinical settings due to the fact that they cost a lot of money and expose patients to radioactive ionization.