ADHD Diagnosis
Diagnosing ADHD in adults can be trickier than diagnosing children. A consultation with an ADHD expert is the first step towards a good diagnosis.
Bring any medical or academic records with you to your appointment. like it may bring questionnaires and rating scales that provide details about your symptoms.
Symptoms
A thorough ADHD diagnosis is based on a physical exam and an interview with a medical professional. The examiner will ask questions about the person's family history and childhood, and may employ checklists to record the symptoms of the individual. The evaluator may also look over documents from the workplace and school, and may also want 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 has been suffering from multiple symptoms for at least six months and occur in a variety of settings, such as at school or at home. The evaluator may also look for other ailments that could trigger similar symptoms, like depression, anxiety or a thyroid condition.
Adults will be evaluated to determine the severity of symptoms and their impact on their work or social lives. The evaluator will also ask how the person feels about his or her symptoms and how they affect their daily life.
Many people suffering from ADHD are unable to remember the exact date they began experiencing problems. This is why a specialist will usually interview someone who knows the person well like an adult sibling or spouse for an adult, or parents or teachers for a child. The evaluation expert can use checklists to examine adults as well as a list of the behaviors that children exhibit.
Contrary to the past, the current diagnostic guidelines state that an adult can't be diagnosed with ADHD in the event that symptoms appeared before age 12. This change is designed to avoid people suffering from ADHD who were diagnosed as children being mistakenly diagnosed with other disorders, like 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 perform an exhaustive evaluation. Ask your personal physician or a local mental health care expert for recommendations, or search the phone book for "psychiatry" or "psychology." You can also contact a support group for adults with ADHD because many of them will have worked with local experts who could provide recommendations.
During the ADHD diagnostic assessment, a healthcare specialist will examine the patient's medical and family history. They will ask about how the symptoms affect functioning in different environments, like at home, work, or in relationships. It is crucial to determine the severity of the symptoms because the APA's guidelines for diagnosing ADHD state that the symptoms must cause significant impairment to be diagnosed.
The healthcare professional will typically interview the patient, but they may also speak to the person's siblings, parents and friends who know him well. Some professionals ask people to complete questionnaires or scales. These include ADHD checklists for symptoms and ratings of behavior. Visit Web Page and other caregivers can also be useful sources of information.
The APA's Diagnostic Guidelines say that symptoms should be frequent and interfere with performance. This is crucial, since other conditions such as mood disorders or learning disabilities can be similar as ADHD (Austerman 2015). Additionally medical exams can be performed to identify other causes that could be causing the symptoms, like thyroid issues, vision or hearing problems or the use of certain medications like stimulants or sedatives.
Family History
In some instances, a family history of ADHD is a crucial element in determining if you have an diagnosis. It is a hereditary condition, and a careful study of the patient's as well as his or her relatives histories can help determine whether there is a family pattern.
It is essential for health professionals to have a complete understanding of the patient's symptoms regardless of whether they occur at school, work or in social situations. A doctor should also be able to determine the degree to which symptoms affect the patient's daily activities. This is a more accurate test than simply looking at the number of symptoms or examining the patient's intelligence.
For teens and children doctors may conduct an interview with the child or teen as well as their parents. In many instances, a psychiatrist or pediatrician specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. A mental health specialist with extensive experience in ADHD is required to conduct a detailed interview for adults.
A thorough assessment includes a physical exam, which can help determine certain conditions that could cause symptoms similar to ADHD. A complete medical record is also required. For children, this may include medical and school records as well as a psychological evaluation by a school counselor or psychologist. Old school records can be helpful for adults to determine whether symptoms started in the early years of.
When diagnosing adults it is important to consider how symptoms affect your daily life. A thorough psychiatric examination could be required, involving questionnaires and rating scales for the patient and his or her caregivers, a medical interview, and a referral for medical examination. In addition, psychometric or neuropsychological assessment can be used in adult cases to determine how the symptoms are related to learning disorders and other cognitive impairments.
Interviews
A healthcare professional will ask you or your child questions about their issues at home, at school and in the community. The provider will inquire about your or child's medical and family history, and will also review any records you bring with you, such as old school report cards. This information will assist the doctor to decide whether you or your child is eligible to take a test to diagnose 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 usually taken over a period of six months, and include both school and home. The ratings should be provided by people who know your child or you well, such as teachers, coaches as well as Scouts, religious leaders and parents.
To be diagnosed with ADHD adults and children must exhibit a symptomatic behavior that is debilitating and interferes with daily functioning in multiple situations, like at school, work or play. The symptoms must manifest in the early years of childhood, usually before age 12. They are not caused by any other mental health condition.
The sensitivity and specificity in ADHD assessments can be enhanced through the use of psychometric and neuropsychological tests that assess IQ and cognitive performance. They should be utilized in conjunction with a physician's assessment and rating scales as part of a comprehensive assessment plan. These tests could include the use of a standardized questionnaire, such as the ADHD Diagnostic Interview for Adults (DIVA), or an adaptive test that is computerized that can measure response speed short-term memory, executive functions. In the future digital technology, such as virtual reality and head motion sensors for continuous performance tests, may help improve ecological validity by giving people the opportunity to immerse in their natural surroundings instead of sitting in a clinic office.
Tests
Your doctor or a mental health professional may refer you to an expert if he or they suspect ADHD. A complete evaluation will include an extensive interview, data from other sources like your spouse or significant others, as well as the standardized scales of behavior ratings for ADHD. The evaluator will recommend tests based on the clinical impression to screen for any conditions that may be affecting your symptoms. This includes depression, learning disabilities, or a medical condition.
To conduct an exhaustive ADHD assessment, the evaluator must determine whether your symptoms have a significant impact on your life and functioning. Impairment can be in a variety of environments such as your work, home or school, and social relationships. The evaluator will ask you what your symptoms affected you in each circumstance. This will help the evaluator identify the cause and make treatment recommendations.
A comprehensive assessment will comprise in addition to rating of symptoms and standardized performance tests for ADHD. These instruments for testing are based on research comparing the behavior of people with ADHD with those without. They can improve the limitations of the clinical interview by focusing on specific behaviors rather than the overall performance. These measures can help evaluators detect when an individual is lying or attempting to cheat on a test. This issue has been recognized in the field for years.
In addition to the standard test and symptom rating scales and symptom rating scales, a thorough ADHD assessment should include brain scans or other imaging techniques for the brain. However these tests aren't commonly used in a clinical setting due to the expense and expose the patient to radiation.