ADHD DiagnosisAn ADHD Diagnosis can be a confusing process. I will help you through the confusion. By taking it step by step we can understand it. For your sanity and that of your family. You may be asking some of these questions:
To answer these questions I broke up diagnosing ADHD into these areas. Who can tell me I have ADHD? When getting an ADHD diagnosis it must be done by a licensed medical professional. This can be a medical doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist. This may vary depending on where you live. Ask your doctor. The big point is that you cannot have an ADHD diagnosis done by Teachers and councilors may have a lot of knowledge and experience with behavior. They are important parts of the process of ADHD diagnosis and ADHD treatment. But they cannot make the ADHD diagnosis. Teachers often are ones who bring ADHD symptoms to the attention of others. They are also to ones who work in the trenches with these kids after the ADHD diagnosis. How do they test for ADHD?Let’s talk about the nitty gritty actual how.What is the testing like and what is done? There will be a physical exam. That’s because there are many conditions that can cause the symptoms of ADHD.
When performing and ADHD diagnosis a specialist will also check school and medical records, to see if the child's home or school settings could be stressful or disruptive, gather information from the child's parents and teachers, coaches, babysitters, and other adults who know them. They are looking for things like:
The ADHD diagnosis must be based upon a complete history and evaluation of the patient compared to the DSM-IV definition of ADHD. These steps are crucial in identifying the causes of ADHD and the symptoms of ADHD. How I was identified and tested.Going back to when people noticed things were different with me. When they started to notice my symptoms of ADHD.With most caretakers, babysitters or teachers there was always some sort of friction or misunderstanding. I did not blindly do what I was told. All of the questioning would seem pretty defiant or bratty to the adults. My name was pretty consistently on the blackboard for misbehavior. Teachers would often have to speak with me separately. Something was very different with my behavior. My grade one teacher attempted a behavior modification program with me. Another time I was taken into the principal's office to get the strap. A leather belt slapped across the palms for misbehaving. My principal began talking with me about my schoolwork and behavior in class I was scared and very confused. There are many instances where I did not understand. I would like to think that if I had known how my behaviors were affecting others To get to the bottom of this I needed an expert in child psychology to teach me what was happening and make me aware of what was wrong. You can’t speak directly with a child the way you would and adult. Often they would not get what you are saying. A trained professional must speak with them. One that knows how to ask children questions and most importantly knows how to communicate what needs to be done to the child. They can create a real understanding between the children and adults. TestingIn early elementary school children are given standardized testingto identify intelligence and learning disabilities. I remember the day when we were asked to fill out multiple-choice tests for the afternoon. I was in a panic after the teacher explained what to do. I didn't quite catch what the she said. It was a confusing booklet with lots of pages and circles to fill in. It seemed silly to flip to the back of a book and do one set of questions, then go to another part and do more. I completely missed where to fill out what. I thought why not start at the beginning and then work to the end. So I filled out the wrong area of the forms. I recall doing the test twice in two different spots because I realized I goofed it up. Picture a 6 year old doing your taxes. I scored extremely low on some tests involving math, coding, and digit span. The ones where you need good attention. While scoring quite high on other ones. These scores were really strange and it got me noticed. My school had me do the testing in person with a psychomatrist (A doctor the specializes in testing for intelligence and learning disabilities) It seemed that I could recall things well right away, as soon as any interruption was made. I was easily distracted, a symptom of ADHD that has caused me a lot of problems. They knew that something was different with me and they needed to get the doctors involved. My doctor looked like Santa Claus; he sat behind a desk in a room with a lot of books on the wall. I don’t recall talking to much with him very much. We went to a lot of medical labs and I had things glued to my head and nurses and doctors running around. They checked my ears, talked to me about my family, my school. Tested for all sorts of things. Finally I was given a diagnosis of ADHD. It was in the mid 80’s and diagnosis of ADHD was a relatively new thing. I consider myself fortunate for having this attention placed on me. For being taken seriously. What I would have changedThe area I would have like to see a lot of changes would be in my ADHD treatment plan.Overall I was not aware of myself and my actions. I want you all to know that this was what happened to me. It may be different with you or your child. You need to educate yourself and speak with your doctor.
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