ADHD Diagnosis
Adults are more difficult to diagnose than children. An accurate diagnosis begins with a consultation with an expert in ADHD.
You should bring any medical or academic records to your appointment. You may also bring questionnaires or rating scales that give details on your symptoms.
Signs and symptoms
A doctor will conduct a physical exam and interview you to determine whether ADHD is present. The examiner will ask questions about the person's family and childhood, and may use checklists to document the person's symptoms. The evaluator may also review the person's school and work documents, and may want to speak with teachers or others who interact with them.
The evaluator will use the official lists of symptoms for inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity to determine whether the person meets diagnostic criteria. Those criteria are that the patient has a variety of symptoms for at least six months, and that the symptoms manifest in more than one setting -- for example, at home, work or school. The examiner will also look for other conditions that can cause similar symptoms, such as anxiety, depression or a thyroid issue.
Adults will be evaluated to determine the severity of symptoms and their impact on social or work life. The evaluator may also ask the person how they feel about their symptoms and if they affect their daily activities.
Many people with ADHD have trouble remembering whether their issues began in the early years or later. A specialist may interview people who are familiar with the individual, for example, their spouse, sibling, or parent for an adult or a teacher or parent for children. The evaluation expert can use checklists to examine adults, as well as a list with behaviors for children.
Contrary to previous diagnostic guidelines the adult can't be diagnosed with ADHD until symptoms begin to manifest before the age of 12. This change is meant to prevent people who had ADHD as children from being misdiagnosed as having other disorders, such as depression or anxiety.
Medical History
If you suspect that your or your child suffers from ADHD the first step is to find an expert who can provide an exhaustive examination. Consult your doctor or mental health professional in your area for recommendations or look up the phone book by "psychiatry" and "psychology." You can also contact an adult support group with ADHD because they've worked with local experts who are able to provide recommendations.
A healthcare professional will go over the medical history of a patient and family history during the ADHD diagnostic evaluation. They will inquire as to whether the symptoms affect functioning in various environments, like at home, at work, or with relationships. It is important to assess how severe the symptoms are, as the APA's diagnostic guidelines for ADHD note that the symptoms have to cause significant impairment for the diagnosis to be made.
The healthcare professional will generally interview the patient, but they might also request to talk to his or her parents, siblings, and other family members who are familiar with him. Some professionals will have people fill out questionnaires or rating scales, including ADHD symptom checklists and standardized behavior ratings. Teachers and other caregivers are often valuable sources of information as well.
The APA's Diagnostic Guidelines state that symptoms must be frequent and impact performance. This is vital, as other conditions, such as mood disorders or learning disabilities can appear similar as ADHD (Austerman 2015). Additionally, a medical exam may be performed to check for other causes that could be causing the symptoms, including thyroid issues, vision or hearing issues or the use of certain medications such as stimulants or sedatives.
Family History
In some instances there are instances where an ancestor's history of ADHD is a major aspect in obtaining an diagnosis. It is highly inherited and a look at the patient's and relatives' histories can aid in determining if there's any familial pattern.
It is crucial for healthcare professionals to be able to see the full picture of the patient's symptoms regardless of whether they occur at school, work, or in social situations. A healthcare professional must also consider the extent of how a patient's symptoms affect their daily functioning. This is a more reliable method than simply examining symptom counts or examining the patient's IQ.
A doctor may interview the child or teen as well as his or her parents. In many instances, a pediatrician or psychiatrist specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. A mental health specialist with a vast knowledge of ADHD is required to conduct an in-depth interview for adults.
A thorough assessment usually includes a physical examination, which can rule out certain health conditions that can cause similar symptoms to ADHD. A complete medical record is also a must. For children, this may include medical and school records, as well as an evaluation of psychological health by school counselors or psychologists. For adults the old school records are often useful in establishing the cause of symptoms that began in the early years of life.
When diagnosing adults, it is important to consider how symptoms affect daily functioning. A thorough psychiatric exam may be required, which includes rating scales and questions by the patient and caregivers and caregivers, as well as an interview with a clinician and referral for medical exam. Adults may also undergo a psychometric or neuropsychological assessment to determine the connection between their symptoms and learning disorders.
Interviews
A professional will ask you or your child questions about their concerns at home, school and in the community. The provider will also inquire about your or your child's past medical or personal history, including family and friends and will review any documents you may bring with you, such as old report cards from school. This information will help the doctor determine if you or your child is eligible to take a test for diagnosing 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 conducted over the course of six months, which includes both at home and in school. The ratings should be provided by those who know your child or you well, such as teachers, coaches as well as Scouts, religious leaders and parents.
To be diagnosed with ADHD, children and adults must have symptomatic behavior that is a source of distress and hinders everyday functioning in multiple settings, such as at school, at work, or at play. The symptoms must manifest in the early years of childhood, usually before age 12. They are not caused by any other mental health issue.
The sensitivity and specificity in ADHD evaluations can be improved by using neuropsychological and psychometric tests that measure IQ and cognitive function. They should be utilized in conjunction with a clinician's assessment and rating scales as part of a comprehensive assessment strategy. These assessments can involve the administration of a standard test, such as the ADHD Diagnostic Interview for Adults or a computerized testing approach which measures executive functions, short-term memories and speed of response. In the future digital technology, such as virtual reality for continuous performance tests as well as head movement sensors may enhance the ecological reliability of these ADHD assessment tools by allowing the person being evaluated to be immersed in their environment rather than in a clinical office.
Tests
If your doctor or mental healthcare professional suspects ADHD the doctor may recommend you to an ADHD specialist. A thorough assessment should include an extensive interview, data from independent sources like your spouse or significant other and standardized behavior rating scales for ADHD. The evaluator will order tests according to the clinical impression to screen for any conditions that might be affecting your symptoms. These could include depression or learning disabilities, or a medical condition.
A thorough ADHD evaluation is required by the evaluator to determine if your symptoms are seriously affecting your functioning and life. how much does an adhd assessment cost could occur in a variety of settings, such as at home at work, at school, or even in your social connections. The evaluator should ask what your symptoms have affected you in each situation. This will enable the evaluator make an assessment, and then formulate treatment suggestions.
In addition to the symptom rating The comprehensive assessment usually includes one or more tests that are standardized for ADHD. These tests are founded on research that examines the behavior of people with ADHD and those without. These instruments improve on the limitations of a standard clinical interview by focusing more on specific behaviors rather than an individual's overall performance. These measures can aid in identifying when an individual is being disingenuous or trying to cheat the test this issue has been identified for many years in the field of neuropsychological testing.
A thorough ADHD assessment includes the brain scan or other neuroimaging techniques in addition to the standard test and symptom rating scales. These tests aren't used in clinical settings due to the fact that they are costly and expose patients to ionizing radioactivity.