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 in obtaining a good diagnosis.

You should bring any medical or academic records to your appointment. It's also helpful to bring rating scales and interviews that can provide information about your symptoms.

Symptoms

A doctor will conduct a physical exam and interview you to determine whether ADHD is present. The evaluator might ask questions about the person's childhood and family history and use checklists to record symptoms. The evaluator will also review documents from the workplace and school, and may want to talk with teachers or other individuals who interact 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 has been suffering from multiple symptoms for at least six months, and that they occur in a variety of settings such as at school and at home. The examiner will also be looking for other conditions that can cause similar symptoms, like anxiety, depression, or a thyroid problem.

Adults will be assessed to determine the severity of symptoms and their impact on work or social life. The evaluator may also ask the individual what their feelings are about their symptoms and whether or not they impact their daily life.

Many people with ADHD struggle to remember if their problems started in the beginning or later. For that reason, an expert will typically interview someone who is familiar with the person for example, a spouse or sibling for an adult, or an educator or parent for a child. The evaluator may use checklists to evaluate adults as well as a list of the behaviors that children exhibit.

In contrast to the past, current diagnostic guidelines indicate that an adult shouldn't be diagnosed with ADHD when symptoms were evident before the age of 12. This change is intended to stop people suffering from ADHD who were diagnosed as children from being mistakenly diagnosed with other disorders, for example, depression and anxiety.

Medical Histories

If you suspect your child or yourself may have ADHD the first step is to consult an expert who can perform a thorough evaluation. Talk to your doctor or mental health professional in your area for recommendations, or look up the phone book by "psychiatry" and "psychology." You can also reach out to an adult ADHD support group, as they may have worked with local specialists who are able to provide referrals.

During the ADHD diagnostic evaluation, a healthcare professional will review the person's medical and family history. They will ask about how the symptoms affect functioning in different environments such as at work, home or in relationships. It is important to determine the severity of the symptoms as the APA's guidelines on ADHD stipulate that the symptoms must cause significant impairment to be considered a diagnosis.

The healthcare professional will typically interview the patient, however, they might also request to speak to the person's parents, siblings, and other family members who know him well. Some healthcare professionals will ask patients to fill out questionnaires or scales. They may also ask for ADHD symptoms checklists and behavior ratings. Teachers and other caregivers can be important sources of information.

It is essential to evaluate how the person's symptoms interfere in various situations, since the APA's diagnostic guidelines state that symptoms have to occur frequently and affect performance. This is essential due to the fact that other conditions like mood disorders and learning disabilities may present similar to ADHD (Austerman, 2015). A medical examination can be conducted to determine if there are any other possible reasons for the symptoms. These include thyroid problems as well as hearing or vision issues, or medication such as stimulants and sedatives.

Family History

In some cases there are instances where the family history of ADHD is a key factor in getting an diagnosis. It is a hereditary condition, and a thorough examination of the patient's and relatives histories can help determine whether there is a family pattern.

It is crucial that healthcare professionals have a complete understanding of the symptoms of their patients, such as whether or not they occur in work, school or in social settings. A provider should also determine the degree of how symptoms impact the patient's daily activities. This is a more accurate method than simply examining the number of symptoms or looking at the patient's intelligence.


A doctor may interview the child or teen as well as their parents. In many cases, a psychiatrist or pediatrician is a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. A mental health professional with a vast knowledge of ADHD is required to conduct a thorough interview for adults.

A thorough evaluation typically includes a physical exam, which can rule out specific health conditions that can cause similar symptoms as ADHD. A complete medical history is also a must. This can include school and medical records as well as a psychologist or school counselor's psychological assessment. Old school records can be helpful to adults to determine whether symptoms started in the early years of childhood.

When diagnosing adults with psychiatric disorders, it is particularly important to examine how the symptoms interfere with daily functioning. A thorough psychiatric exam may also be necessary, involving rating scales and questionnaires by the patient and his or her caregivers, a clinical interview, and a referral for medical examination. Adults may also undergo a neuropsychological or psychometric assessment to determine the relationship between their symptoms and learning disorders.

Interviews

A healthcare professional will speak with you or your child about their problems at home, school, and in the community. The provider will also ask about the child's or yours's medical, family and personal history and will review any documents you may bring with you like old school report cards. This information will help the doctor decide if you or your child is eligible to undergo a test to determine 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 the course of six months which includes both home and school. The evaluations must be conducted by people who are familiar with your or your child's behavior, such as teachers as well as religious and scout leaders, coaches and parents.

To be diagnosed with ADHD children and adults must exhibit a symptomatic behavior that is a source of distress and hinders daily functioning in multiple settings, such as at school, work or play. The symptoms should manifest in the early years of childhood, usually before the age of 12. They aren't caused by a mental health problem.

Psychometric and neuropsychological tests that measure IQ, cognitive functioning and brain function can enhance the sensitivity and specificity of ADHD evaluations. They should be used in conjunction with a physician's interview and rating scales as part of a comprehensive assessment plan. These tests could include the administration of a standard questionnaire like the ADHD Diagnostic Interview for Adults (DIVA), or a computer-based adaptive testing method that measures response speed, short-term memory and executive functions. In the future digital technology, such as virtual reality and head movement sensors for continuous performance tests, can help improve the validity of ecological tests by permitting people to immerse themselves into their surroundings instead of sitting in a clinic.

Tests

If your GP or mental health professional suspects ADHD, he or she may recommend you to an ADHD specialist. A thorough assessment should include a comprehensive interview, information from independent sources such as your spouse or significant other, and standardized behavior rating scales for ADHD. Based on the clinical findings, the evaluator may also request tests to check for any other conditions that could influence your symptoms, including depression, learning disabilities, or a medical condition.

A thorough ADHD evaluation is required by the evaluator to determine whether your symptoms are significantly impairing your functioning and life. The impairment can occur in a variety settings such as your home, work or school, as well as social interactions. The examiner should inquire about what your symptoms have affected you in each setting. This will enable the evaluator to make a diagnosis, and develop treatment suggestions.

A complete assessment will include the rating of symptoms and standardized tests for performance for ADHD. These tests are based on research and compare the behavior of people suffering from ADHD with those without. These instruments can help overcome the limitations of a traditional clinical interview since they focus more on specific behaviors than the overall functioning of an individual. These tests can help assessors identify when a person is lying or attempting to cheat a test. what is an adhd assessment Links to an external site. has been recognized in the field for years.

In addition to the standardized test and the symptom rating scales, a thorough ADHD assessment should include brain scans and other neurological imaging procedures. However, these tests are not commonly used in a clinical setting because they are expensive and expose patients to ionizing radiation.