As ADHD is now considered a mental or psychiatric disorder, testing for ADHD uses the same methods which are used for all psychiatric illnesses and conditions.
That means basically using the clinician's judgement after he or she has surveyed various questionnaires and any other evidence.
Because it is a question of judgement this leaves a margin of error and there has been great debate about how subjective assessing for ADHD can be.
As yet there is no diagnostic tool which will give a black and white answer.
It would be great if there were.
First of all in assessing for ADHD the doctor or pediatrician should rule out any condition which is NOT ADHD but which has very similar symptoms.
These can range from inattentiveness caused by a seizure, dyslexia, anxiety, visual processing disorder, diabetes , middle ear infection, a family trauma or visual processing disorder.
We should remember that there are up to 30 conditions or illnesses which can mimic ADHD so it is important to have these ruled out from the beginning.
Usually the pediatrician or child specialist before starting assessing for ADHD will ask about when the symptoms started to appear and if it is really ADHD, then these will have started before the age of seven.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that certain guidelines are adhered to and that the criteria as set out in the DSM-IV manual are followed.
Parents can check that this is being done.
Basically all the questions and questionnaires will try to establish from those close to the child, what effect certain behaviors are having on his development as compared with normal children.
The problem behaviors which are holding him back should be present in at least two settings.
Where there is a problem which is only present in one setting, such as school, then other possibilities such as a learning disability should be explored.
Very often, quieter children who may have the type of ADHD associated only with inattention and distractability will often go unnoticed and will never be sent for testing for ADHD , because it is the hyperactive children who make the most noise and cause the most problems.
Once assessing for ADHD has been completed, parents need to get wised up on ADHD medications and make a decision about whether to go for them or not.
ADHD drugs are now widely abused by young people who do NOT have ADHD and recent cases in Iowa show an alarming tendency of young people to use these drugs to get high, stay awake or just lose weight.
This gives us an idea of just how powerful these mind altering drugs are and parents would be wise to look at alternatives such as ADHD homeopathic remedies which are not addictive and are perfectly safe.
That means basically using the clinician's judgement after he or she has surveyed various questionnaires and any other evidence.
Because it is a question of judgement this leaves a margin of error and there has been great debate about how subjective assessing for ADHD can be.
As yet there is no diagnostic tool which will give a black and white answer.
It would be great if there were.
First of all in assessing for ADHD the doctor or pediatrician should rule out any condition which is NOT ADHD but which has very similar symptoms.
These can range from inattentiveness caused by a seizure, dyslexia, anxiety, visual processing disorder, diabetes , middle ear infection, a family trauma or visual processing disorder.
We should remember that there are up to 30 conditions or illnesses which can mimic ADHD so it is important to have these ruled out from the beginning.
Usually the pediatrician or child specialist before starting assessing for ADHD will ask about when the symptoms started to appear and if it is really ADHD, then these will have started before the age of seven.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that certain guidelines are adhered to and that the criteria as set out in the DSM-IV manual are followed.
Parents can check that this is being done.
Basically all the questions and questionnaires will try to establish from those close to the child, what effect certain behaviors are having on his development as compared with normal children.
The problem behaviors which are holding him back should be present in at least two settings.
Where there is a problem which is only present in one setting, such as school, then other possibilities such as a learning disability should be explored.
Very often, quieter children who may have the type of ADHD associated only with inattention and distractability will often go unnoticed and will never be sent for testing for ADHD , because it is the hyperactive children who make the most noise and cause the most problems.
Once assessing for ADHD has been completed, parents need to get wised up on ADHD medications and make a decision about whether to go for them or not.
ADHD drugs are now widely abused by young people who do NOT have ADHD and recent cases in Iowa show an alarming tendency of young people to use these drugs to get high, stay awake or just lose weight.
This gives us an idea of just how powerful these mind altering drugs are and parents would be wise to look at alternatives such as ADHD homeopathic remedies which are not addictive and are perfectly safe.
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