Getting adhd diagnosis of ADHD can alter your life. It explains why some individuals struggle to stay focused and following directions, or staying focused.
Ask your family doctor or therapist to refer you to an expert. Contact your insurance provider to determine if they cover ADHD evaluations for adults.
The Diagnosis Process
For adults, a proper diagnosis will require an evaluation by a psychiatrist, psychologist or specialist nurse. They are the only healthcare providers who can identify ADHD in adults.
A typical initial evaluation will start with a thorough interview about your lifestyle and symptoms. The healthcare professional could also ask how long you've been suffering from symptoms and how they are affecting your life. They might suggest that you speak to a close family member or friend about your symptoms.
The process of evaluating you will include questions regarding your childhood. The current guidelines allow doctors to diagnose ADHD without evidence that the disorder existed in the early years of childhood. So, the healthcare professional will want to examine your school records and speak to people who knew you as a child. They may also inquire if you have had any other mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety.
In some cases the evaluator may suggest cognitive testing, such as IQ tests or tests for memory or learning problems. They may also recommend that you take other kinds of medical tests to rule out physical issues that may cause your symptoms.
If your healthcare professional is sure that your symptoms are caused by ADHD they might suggest additional tests to confirm and determine the severity of the problem. These tests may include blood and urine testing and a medical exam and perhaps educational or psychological tests.
The tests will be used to determine the concentrations of certain chemicals in your body that could be related to ADHD like serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. They will also examine your heart rate and blood pressure. You may also be offered an spirometry test, which measures lung capacity. They may also recommend a brain imaging scan to determine if there are any functional or structural issues. In some instances, the evaluator may recommend that you or your child be tested for other conditions that may have similar symptoms to ADHD such as anxiety and depression or mood and personality disorders.
The Interview
There are a variety of ADHD questions and tests that can be used to test your knowledge, prior to scheduling an appointment with your physician. These tests can be useful in identifying the possibility of ADHD However, the only way to make a diagnosis is through a medical professional who conducts a thorough medical interview and isn't rushed into prescribing medications.
This process can last between 2 to 3 hours. It includes explaining to the patient the concept of ADHD and its possible effects on their symptoms. It could also include the doctor asking about a past history of depression or substance abuse since these conditions are often co-occurring 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. Additionally, the therapist will be required to review school records and interview teachers. If the patient is an adult, a spouse or family member could also be interviewed. Personal insight can uncover information that can't be gleaned from questionnaires.
Some doctors are overloaded and don't bother with this step or they may insist on seeing a patient only once, instead of conducting an entire assessment. This can cause a doctor to make an incorrect diagnosis. This is a red-flag when the doctor is not adamant about the criteria for diagnosing ADHD.
For adults, the evaluator could request that the patient complete ratings for each symptom on an ADHD checklist and then provide examples of how these symptoms have impacted the patient's life. The evaluation will then compare the ratings against the checklist and evaluate the patient for ADHD.
It's a great feeling for some adults to finally be given an ADHD diagnosis. But the underlying emotions -such as guilt over failing to live up to expectations, or regret that the disorder wasn't recognized until later in life -- can be complicated. The inattention and impulsivity that are characteristic of ADHD can have severe implications in many areas of a person's life, including relationships, work, and health.
The Tests
It can be challenging and confusing to obtain an ADHD diagnosis. It requires a lot of paperwork as well as interviews and tests. The best way to prepare is to seek suggestions from family members, friends and doctors you are confident with. You must also research the doctor and their credentials to ensure they are a good fit to your needs. It is essential to find an expert who is specialized in ADHD diagnosis. This will ensure that your child or you receives an accurate diagnosis and the best treatment.
An interview with the evaluater is the initial step in an ADHD assessment. The evaluator will ask you or your child questions to find out more about your symptoms. The evaluator wants to know how symptoms affect you and if they interfere with your schoolwork, work or your relationships. The evaluator may also use rating scales to assess your ADHD symptoms. They usually consist of checklists that ask you or someone around you several questions. For instance, you could be asked if it is common to miss appointments, or be asked how often you interrupt others.
Many evaluators will also ask people who know you and your child well to complete questionnaires regarding their observations of your behavior. Adults could be asked to complete questionnaires by their spouses or siblings. Children might be asked to complete questionnaires by coaches, teachers daycare workers, coaches, or the nannies. Personal experience can provide information that isn't feasible to collect through a questionnaire.
Some evaluators may also perform cognitive tests to determine if you have learning or mental disorders are contributing factors to your symptoms. They may also test for mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorder, incipient psychosis or substance abuse. They may even screen for underlying conditions like hypothyroidism and seizure disorders.
Certain evaluators might offer you or your children an ADHD screening test to measure how you respond both to non-target and target stimuli. The TOVA (Timed On Only Visual Attention) is a computer-based test that has been approved by the FDA that tests your ability to pay attention and retain a variety of geometric shapes. The evaluator will look at the frequency at which you react to non-target stimuli, as well as how long it takes you to respond to the stimulus you want to respond. This can help evaluators to determine whether you have impulsive ADHD or inattentional ADHD.
The Follow-Up
Multiple mental health professionals are qualified to diagnose ADHD and offer ADHD evaluations. It could be a psychologist or psychiatrist or a psychotherapist or neurologist. The doctor will want to know the cause of your concern and how long the problems have been present for. He will also ask about any family history of ADHD. It is thought that the disorder is 70% to 80% heritable and that genes play a big role in determining if you or your child will suffer from symptoms.
He will inquire about how ADHD affects you or your child at school, home and at work. He will ask you or your child about their behavior in various environments because ADHD symptoms are different in different settings. To be diagnosed with ADHD you or your child need to have six or more symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention or impulsivity that affects daily functioning. The symptoms must last for at minimum for six months.
To make a correct diagnosis, the specialist will need to rule other conditions out. This could include other psychiatric disorders including mood and anxiety disorders, intellectual disabilities, and certain medical conditions that affect the brain, such as thyroid disorders. In addition, the specialist will ask about your or your child's sleeping patterns as well as any injuries or accidents that might have affected the development of your or your child's brain.
He will also take into consideration whether your your child's ADHD symptoms are related to any other health condition or medications that you or your child takes. Side effects of stimulant medications like those used to treat ADHD, can include stomachaches as well as difficulty sleeping. These side effects could also be caused by other medications like antidepressants, sleep medications, and a few sleep aids.
Finally, the expert will need to determine if a comorbidity present, which means that your child or you has another condition that can cause symptoms of ADHD for example, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorder, or eating disorder. The psychiatrist or psychologist will go through all the data and make a diagnosis.