ADHD Diagnosis
Finding out if you have ADHD in adults can be trickier than diagnosing children. A consultation with an ADHD expert is the first step to getting a reliable diagnosis.
Bring any medical or academic records to your appointment. It's also helpful to bring ratings scales and interviews that provide information regarding your symptoms.
Symptoms
A thorough ADHD diagnosis requires physical examination and a discussion with a medical professional. The evaluator may ask questions about the person's family history and childhood, and use checklists to document symptoms. The evaluator will also review school and work records and may wish to speak with teachers or others who spend time with 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 include that the person must have experienced multiple symptoms for at least six months, and that they occur in a variety of settings such as at school and at home. The evaluator could also check for other conditions that may cause similar symptoms, such as depression or anxiety.
Adults will be assessed to determine the severity of their symptoms and the impact they have on social or work life. The evaluation will also inquire what the person's feelings are about his or her symptoms and how they impact daily life.
Many people suffering from ADHD are unable to remember the time when their issues began. This is why the specialist will usually interview someone who knows the person well, such as a spouse or sibling for an adult; a parent or teacher for the child. The assessor may employ checklists for adults, and for children the list of behaviours to be on the lookout for.
Contrary to previous diagnostic guidelines, an adult cannot be diagnosed with ADHD until the symptoms have been identified before the age of twelve. This change is designed to avoid people suffering from ADHD who were diagnosed as children being wrongly diagnosed as having other disorders, like anxiety and depression.
Medical History
If you suspect that your child or yourself has ADHD the first step is to seek out an expert who will perform a thorough evaluation. Ask your personal physician or an area mental health expert for recommendations, or search the phone book under "psychiatry" or "psychology." You can also join an adult ADHD support group, since they may have worked with local specialists who could provide referrals.
During the ADHD diagnostic assessment, a healthcare specialist will examine the patient's medical and family history. They will inquire as to how the symptoms interfere with functioning in various environments, like at home, at work or in relationships. It is essential to determine the severity of the symptoms, since the APA's guidelines for ADHD stipulate that the symptoms have to cause significant impairment in order to be diagnosed.
The healthcare professional will generally interview the person, but they might also request to talk to his or her parents, siblings and friends who know him well. Some healthcare professionals require patients to complete questionnaires or scales. These may include ADHD symptom checklists and rating of behavior. Teachers and other caregivers can also be valuable sources of information.
It is essential to evaluate the extent to which the individual's symptoms interfere with functioning in different environments, as the APA's diagnostic guidelines stipulate that symptoms must manifest frequently and impair performance. This is important, as other conditions like mood disorders or learning disabilities could appear similar to ADHD (Austerman 2015). A medical examination can be done to determine if there are other possible reasons for the symptoms. These include thyroid problems as well as hearing or vision issues, or prescription medications like stimulants and sedatives.
Family History
In certain cases there are instances where an ancestor's history of ADHD is a key aspect in obtaining a diagnosis. It is highly inherited and a look at the patient's and their relatives' histories will help determine if there is any pattern of inheritance in the family.
It is crucial that healthcare professionals have a complete picture of the symptoms of their patients, such as whether or not they occur at work, in school or in social settings. A physician should also consider the degree of how symptoms impact a person's daily functioning. This is more important than simply calculating symptoms or looking at the intelligence of patients.
A doctor may conduct an interview with a child or teen, and also his or her parents. In many cases, a psychiatrist or pediatrician is an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. For adults, a thorough interview is required by a mental health specialist who has a wealth of experience in ADHD and takes the time to carefully evaluate the individual's symptoms.
A comprehensive evaluation includes a physical exam, which helps to rule out certain conditions that can cause symptoms similar to ADHD. A complete medical record is also required. For children, this may include previous medical and school records, as well as a psychological evaluation by a school counselor or psychologist. For adults documents from school can be helpful in determining the cause of symptoms that began in childhood.
In the case of diagnosing adults, it's important to take into consideration how symptoms affect your daily life. A thorough psychiatric exam is also possible, involving rating scales and questionnaires by the patient and caregivers, a clinical interview and referral for medical examination. Adults may also undergo a psychometric or neuropsychological assessment to determine the relationship between their symptoms and learning disorders.
Interviews
A healthcare professional will ask you or your child questions about their concerns at school, home and in the community. The provider will also ask about your or your child's past medical, family and personal history and will review any records you may bring with you like old school report cards. This information will help the doctor decide whether 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 taken over a period of six months, and cover both home and school. The rating must be performed by those who are familiar with your your child's behaviors like teachers, religious and Scout leaders, coaches, and parents.
Children and adults diagnosed with ADHD are likely to exhibit symptoms that are debilitating and interfere with daily functioning, whether at school, work, or play. The signs must be evident in the early years of the early years of childhood, usually before age 12. They can't be caused by another mental health issue.
The sensitivity and precision of ADHD evaluations can be improved by using neuropsychological and psychometric tests that test IQ and cognitive functioning. They should be used in conjunction with a clinician's interview and rating scales as part of a comprehensive assessment plan. These assessments may include the administration of a standardized questionnaire like the ADHD Diagnostic Interview for Adults (DIVA), or a computerized adaptive testing approach that measures responses speed, short-term memory and executive functions. In the near future the use of digital technology like virtual reality for continuous performance tests and head movement sensors may help to improve ecological validity of these ADHD assessment tools by giving the person being assessed to be in their surroundings rather than sitting in the clinical office.
Tests
Your GP or mental health care specialist may recommend you to an expert if he or she suspects ADHD. A thorough evaluation will consist of a thorough interview, information from other sources like your spouse or significant others, as well as the standardized scales of behavior ratings for ADHD. Based on the clinical impression, the evaluator may also order tests to screen for other conditions that could affect your symptoms, such as depression, learning disabilities or a medical condition.
psychiatrist adhd assessment is required by the evaluator to determine if your symptoms are significantly affecting your life and performance. The impairment can occur in a variety of settings, like at home at work, at school, or even in your social connections. The evaluator needs to know what your symptoms have affected you in each setting. This will allow the evaluator to make a diagnosis and develop treatment recommendations.
A comprehensive test will include in addition to symptoms ratings and standardized tests for performance for ADHD. These tests are based on research and compare the behavior of people suffering from ADHD to those who do not. These instruments can help overcome the limitations of a standard clinical interview because they focus more on specific behaviors rather than an individual's overall functioning. These tests can help assessors identify when a person is lying or attempting to cheat on a test. This problem has been recognized in the field for a long time.
In addition to the standard test and the symptom rating scales, a thorough ADHD evaluation should include brain scans or other imaging techniques for the brain. These tests are not utilized in clinical settings due to the fact that they are costly and expose patients to radioactivity ionizing.