Getting an ADHD Diagnosis
Getting an ADHD diagnosis can be a life changing experience. It explains why people struggle with things like staying focused on their task, following directions and staying organized.
Ask your family doctor or your therapist to refer you to an expert. Contact your insurance provider to see if it covers ADHD assessments for adults.
Diagnosis Process
A psychiatrist, psychologist or specialist nurse will need to evaluate adults in order to establish a correct diagnosis. They are the only healthcare professionals who can identify ADHD among adults.
Often, an initial assessment will start with a thorough interview about your life and symptoms. The healthcare professional will want to know how long it has been a problem and how they impact you. They may also ask to talk to a family member or close friend about your symptoms.
The process of evaluating you will include questions about your childhood. The current guidelines allow doctors to diagnose ADHD without any evidence that the disorder was present in the early years of childhood. So, the healthcare professional will need to examine your school records and talk to people who knew you as in your early years. They may also inquire whether you've had any mental health issues, like depression or anxiety.
In certain instances the evaluator may recommend cognitive tests like IQ tests or assessments for memory or learning issues. They may also recommend other types of medical exams to rule out physical conditions that might be causing your symptoms, like thyroid disorders or seizure problems.
If your healthcare provider is certain that your symptoms are due to ADHD They may suggest additional diagnostic tests to confirm and determine the severity of the condition. These tests may include urine and blood tests, a medical exam, and possibly educational or psychological testing.
Tests are conducted to determine the concentrations of certain chemicals that could be linked with ADHD in your body, like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. They will also check your blood pressure and heart rate. You may also be offered a spirometry, which measures lung capacity. They may also recommend a brain imaging scan to look for functional or structural issues. In some instances your evaluator may suggest that you or a child be examined for disorders that have similar symptoms with ADHD, like anxiety and depression, or mood and personality disorders.
The Interview
There are numerous ADHD quizzes and questions that can be used to test your knowledge, before scheduling an appointment with your physician. These tests can be helpful in identifying the possibility of ADHD however the only way to make a diagnosis is with an expert medical professional who conducts a thorough interview and isn't rushed into prescribing medications.
The process could last between 2 and 3 hours. It includes educating the patient about ADHD and the possible impact it has on their symptoms. It may also include the clinician asking about a past history of substance abuse or depression because these issues can co-occur with ADHD.
A good diagnostic interview will involve a discussion of the patient's symptoms and their impact, and the psychologist or psychiatrist will use a checklist designed to evaluate hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattentiveness. In addition, the clinician will be required to review the school records and speak with teachers. If the patient is an adult spouse or family member could also be questioned. Personal insight can reveal information that is not possible to obtain through questionnaires.
Some doctors rush through this process or insist on only visiting a patient once rather than completing a complete examination. This can lead to incorrect diagnosis. This is a red-flag when the doctor is not adamant about the criteria to diagnose ADHD.
The evaluator could ask adults to rate each symptom on an ADHD checklist and then give examples of how these afflictions have affected their lives. The evaluator will then compare the ratings with the checklist and determine if they are a good indicator for ADHD.
It can be a relief for some adults to receive an ADHD diagnosis. But the underlying emotions -like guilt for not living up to expectations, or the grief that the disorder was not noticed until later in lifeare often complicated. ADHD is defined by impulsivity and a lack of attention. These characteristics can have serious consequences in many areas such as relationships, careers, and health.
The Tests
Finding an ADHD diagnosis is a challenging and confusing process. It involves a lot paperwork and interviews as well as tests. You can prepare by obtaining advice from reliable doctors or family members, as well as friends. You should also research the physician and their qualifications to ensure they are a good fit to your requirements. It is important to find a doctor who is skilled in diagnosing ADHD. This will ensure that your child or you receives an accurate diagnosis and the most effective treatment.
An interview with an evaluater is the initial step in an ADHD assessment. The evaluator may ask you or your child questions in order to know more about your symptoms. The evaluator would like to know how the symptoms impact your daily life and whether they interfere with school, work or relationships. The evaluator can also use rating scales to measure your ADHD symptoms. These usually comprise checklists that ask you or someone close to you a series of questions. For example, you might be asked if you frequently forget appointments, or you might be asked how often you interrupt other people.
Many evaluators also ask people who know you or your child to complete questionnaires on what they have observed. For adults, this could be spouses and siblings; for children, it could be coaches, teachers and nannies, or daycare workers. Personal insights can reveal information that is not possible to gather from a survey.
The evaluators can also conduct cognitive tests to determine if learning or mental impairments contribute to your symptoms. They can also test for mood disorders like bipolar disorder or depression, or psychosis that is in the beginning. They may also screen for medical conditions that are underlying such as hypothyroidism or seizures.
Some evaluators will provide you or your child an ADHD screening test that tests how you respond to targeted and non-target stimuli. For instance the TOVA (Timed On-Only Visual Attention) is an FDA-cleared computerized test that assesses your ability to pay attention and recall geometric shapes. The examiner will assess how often you react to non-target stimuli, and how long it takes you to react to the target stimuli. This can help evaluators to determine whether you have an impulsive ADHD or inattentional ADHD.
Follow-up
Multiple mental health professionals are able to diagnose ADHD and offer ADHD evaluations. This could be a psychiatrist, psychologist psychotherapist, neurologist, or psychotherapist. The specialist will want to know what your concerns are and how long the issues have been recurring for. The doctor will also inquire about any family history of ADHD. The disorder is believed to be 70-80 percent heritable. Genes play a major factor in determining if your child or you will experience symptoms.
He will ask about how ADHD affects you or your child at school, home and at work. He will ask about your or your child's behavior across various environments, since the signs of ADHD differ when they occur in different settings. To be diagnosed with ADHD either you or your child will also need to have at least six symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention or impulsivity that affects the daily activities. The symptoms must last for at least six months.
To help the specialist make an accurate diagnosis, he will need to exclude other conditions. These may include psychiatric conditions that are not listed above, mood and anxiety disorders, intellectual disabilities, and medical conditions that affect the brain, for example, thyroid disorders. Additionally, the doctor will inquire about your child's sleep patterns and any previous accidents or injuries that may have affected the development of your or your child's brain.
He will also look into whether your your child's ADHD symptoms are connected to any other health condition or medications that you or your child is taking. adult diagnosis of adhd of stimulant medication such as those used to treat ADHD can include stomachaches and difficulty sleeping. These side effects could also be caused by other drugs like sleep medications, antidepressants, and a few sleep aids.
The specialist will also need to determine if there is a comorbidity, which means you or your child might be suffering from another illness that could cause symptoms of ADHD. This could be bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety disorder. The psychologist or psychiatrist will review all of the information and come up with a diagnosis.