ADHD Assessment - What Happens When a Doctor Diagnoses ADHD?
To determine an ADHD diagnosis, doctors will review your symptoms to determine whether they match the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V). The majority of professionals will conduct a clinical interview based on one or more ADHD rating scales.
Find an expert who is a specialist in ADHD diagnosis and covered by your insurance. Contact the local support group for names of specialists.
Signs and symptoms
If your pediatrician is evaluating you for ADHD, he or she will ask questions about your symptoms and history. The doctor will also conduct a physical exam to determine the physical causes for your issue like vision issues hearing loss, or a condition.
ADHD is characterized by difficulty paying attention or staying focused. This can lead to impulsive mistakes and inability to finish tasks (e.g. chores or schoolwork). Teens and children with ADHD have trouble listening to others and can be distracted or drowsy. These issues can cause issues in the workplace or at home, as well as in relationships among adults with ADHD.
Another sign of ADHD is difficulty sitting down or remaining silent for long durations. Some people who suffer from ADHD move around, fidget or squirm while waiting for others to arrive, or during the course of a meeting. They may also be too loud or interrupt others frequently.
Doctors rely on the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition Text Revision (DSM-5-TR(tm)), to guide 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 diagnose ADHD, your pediatrician will look at how you behave in various settings like at school, or in other social settings. He or she will ask you as well as your family members as well as teachers and other caretakers to explain your behavior. They may also employ the standard ADHD scales for assessing symptoms and checklists.
Your child might also undergo a physical exam or take tests for blood to rule out any other medical conditions, like hearing loss, vision loss or a thyroid condition that may cause similar symptoms. A mental health professional may also assess your child's capacity to follow directions, concentrate and complete tasks.
Neuropsychological testing is not usually used to diagnose ADHD however, it can be helpful in some situations. It involves analyzing brain activity, such as beta waves using an EEG scan or a magnetic resonance image (MRI). Some studies suggest that ADHD patients are less active in beta waves in their frontal lobes. Additionally, they produce too many theta-waves.
Diagnosis
A doctor is able to diagnose ADHD by looking at a patient's symptoms, their family history, and the results of a variety of assessment and screening tools. These include rating scales as well as continuous performance tests. neuropsychological testing batteries (Table I). It is essential to comprehend the sensitivity and specificity of each instrument and the likelihood that the test will correctly identify those with the disorder in comparison to those who do not.
The first step in assessing ADHD is to interview the patient. It is a one-to two-hour meeting with the doctor that includes questions about the patient's symptoms and the background. A specialist can also seek the assistance of teachers and other caregivers to gather information, particularly when diagnosing children. The specialist will look over the child's medical and school records, and ask them to fill out questionnaires that teachers and parents have completed.
For adults who are being evaluated for ADHD the doctor might also request previous school records to see if the person's symptoms began in childhood. The doctor might also speak to the person's spouse, siblings and other acquaintances about their experiences with the individual. A specialist may also decide to speak with other people who know the individual, such as Scout and religious leaders, or former teachers, to gain an insight into how the individual interacts in various settings.
For an adult or teenager to be diagnosed with ADHD the individual must exhibit a variety of symptoms in a variety of situations, such as at home, work and school. These symptoms must interfere in the person's ability to function and cannot be explained by other condition. For adolescents, the symptoms must have been present since the early years and remain consistent throughout the years. For adults, he or she must show at least five ongoing symptoms and have experienced them for at least six months. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition Text Revision (DSM-5) provides criteria for diagnosis of the disorder.
Treatment
There are a myriad of treatments available for your child or adult who is diagnosed with ADHD. These treatments may include medication, behavior therapy or a combination of both. Your doctor and you will decide on the best treatment for your child based on the symptoms and the length of time they've been suffering. Your doctor will also rule other things out that could cause symptoms, like mental health issues like depression and anxiety or medical issues such as thyroid disorders.
It is important to talk to your child's teacher if you or are having difficulties at school. Teachers can spot ADHD symptoms in children and determine if it's ADHD or something else.
Your assessment will likely consist of an interview with a psychologist, taking ADHD symptoms checklists and other questionnaires including medical history, psychological tests and information regarding family members and friends. It is important to provide as much detail about the difficulties you or your child is having as possible. This will assist your physician to understand the complexities and provide a precise diagnosis.
Adults and older teenagers will undergo a similar process of assessment, but their symptoms will be evaluated differently, as they are generally connected to their work or other activities. Your psychologist or psychiatrist may be able to ask you to describe the problems and how they impact your life. For instance, do the problems interfere with your work or social relationships? How much, if at all? This information will be used by your physician to determine whether your symptoms are mild or moderate.
explanation are more effective than medications for adults with ADHD. These treatments can aid you and your family learn better ways to cope with your symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), for example, can teach you to reframe negative thoughts and manage your emotions. Therapy for groups and families can help you learn new strategies and skills to improve your relationship with your spouse or partner. For adolescents and younger children it is recommended to conduct a behavior study prior to attempting any medication. This includes parent education on how to manage children's behavior under 6 years of age and other types training and therapy for adults and teens.
Follow-up
As with any diagnostic process, the results of an adhd test should always be interpreted and a qualified clinician. This ensures that the patient receives the right treatment for their condition. This also reduces the risk of false positive results when tests show that the person has ADHD even though they don't. This could happen if the test used in an evaluation is not valid or the examiner lacks the experience to interpret the results correctly.
When interpreting the results of an adhd test the physician will examine whether the symptoms are consistent with the patient's history and if they are disruptive to their daily life. They will also consider the onset and persistency of the symptoms as well as compare them to a mental age estimation (i.e. is the patient's behavior significantly "below" or "above" for their age).
Neuropsychological testing is a great tool for assessing ADHD symptoms, in addition to clinical interviews and observation. Certain tests have been designed to test the main symptoms of ADHD: inattention, hyperactivity and an impulsive nature. The Quantified Behavior Test for children (6-12 years) and the Qb+(c) for adults (12 years and over) are two of these tests. These tests utilize motion tracking systems to measure head movements and create measurements of activity (i.e., time spent moving more than 1 cm/s) as well as distance and the surfaces covered by movement as also microevents (i.e. tiny movements above 1 mm). They also provide estimates of mistakes in omission and commission which are the two main components of ADHD's executive functioning issues.
It is important that the physician takes the time to conduct a thorough assessment. They will ask about the person’s health and development history, which includes their childhood, school and work histories as well as family life and drinking and drug use and other factors that could be contributing to the symptoms. They will then use a combination of the SWAN and the patient or parent ratings and objective cognitive testing to establish their diagnosis.