If you find that your child has symptoms of ADHD, a trained medical professional can perform an evaluation. Most experts follow protocol that includes a thorough diagnostic interview, information from independent sources like spouses or significant others and standardized ADHD symptom checklists.
They also review a family history and spend time observing your child at school, work or home. They may use questionnaires and rating scales to check for other conditions that could cause symptoms like ADHD.
Symptom Checker
Symptom checkers are tools that help people identify possible causes of their symptoms. They ask the user a series of questions and then analyze their answers to give them a probable diagnosis. They can also offer triage advice on whether or not the person should seek medical care and at what level of urgency. Some symptom checkers are free, while others require payment. These programs can help people save time and money, by not going to the doctor when they don’t need to.
Using a symptom checker is easy. All you have to do is enter your symptoms into the program and then answer some questions about them. Usually, you will be asked about how often you have the symptoms, and how long they have been occurring. Some symptom checkers will also ask you to rate the severity of your symptoms on a scale of 0-3 or 4. The higher your score, the more severe your symptoms are. Rating scales are subjective, so you should have a friend or family member fill out the test as well.
A symptom checker can also assess a person’s physical condition by measuring their reaction to certain stimuli. For example, they might be asked to press a button when they see a certain symbol on a screen and not when they see a different one. This type of assessment is known as a continuous performance task (CPT). It measures attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.
CPTs are more useful for diagnosing ADHD than self-report questionnaires. However, they are not always accurate. They can also lead to false positives, especially in children who have a history of trauma or neglect. They can also be misleading because they can be influenced by many factors, including stress and fatigue.
Despite the drawbacks, online symptom checkers can still be helpful for some people. They can save time, money and stress by letting you know when to seek medical attention. However, it is important to remember that a symptom checker does not provide a medical diagnosis and should never be used for emergencies.
Self-Assessment
Taking an online ADHD test or questionnaire can help you decide if you need to visit a health professional for a formal diagnosis. There are many quizzes and rating scales that can help you determine if you have a problem with hyperactivity, impulsivity or inattention. But remember, these tests are not clinically proven and cannot provide a diagnosis for you or your child.
Your health care provider will take a complete history of your or your child’s symptoms, including when they started. They’ll also ask about family, social and work problems. If the symptoms are severe enough, they may use a combination of physical exams, behavioral testing and interviews to make a diagnosis.
Adults who think they have ADHD should see a doctor who specializes in treating the condition. The doctor will interview you and other people who know you, such as friends and family members. They’ll ask questions about your symptoms, such as how often you lose track of things or how difficult it is to start and finish tasks. The doctor will then compare your answers to the criteria for diagnosing ADHD in adults, which are:
In addition to these questions, the doctor may use other specialized tests, such as the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) or the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning-Adult Version (BRIEF-A). These shortened versions of the original CAARS and BRIEF-A ask about specific aspects of your functioning, such as organizational skills, following through on tasks, shifting from one activity to another, putting things away and recalling information.
You can also take the QbTest, an FDA cleared computer based test. It combines a test of attention ability with a movement analysis using infrared technology. The results of the QbTest are compared to norm data for other individuals of your age and gender to identify whether you have ADHD symptoms.
It’s important to note that, for a diagnosis of ADHD in children and adults, the symptoms must be present in two or more settings, such as home, school and work, and be seriously disrupting daily functioning. Also, the symptoms must have been present before the age of 12, and they can’t be caused by another mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression.
Diagnosis
The next step is to see a mental health professional who has experience diagnosing ADHD. Your provider will want to review your or your child’s medical history and ask questions about how symptoms impact you at home, work or school. He or she may also want to know about any other conditions you or your child has, particularly learning disabilities and mood disorders.
Psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists and some physicians are qualified to diagnose ADHD. If possible, look for a specialist covered by your health insurance.
If not, check with local chapters of the National Alliance for Mental Illness or CHADD for recommendations. Most doctors begin the evaluation with a clinical interview, using one of the standardized ADHD rating scales to identify and track symptoms. They’ll also use questionnaires or interviews with people who know the patient well—such as spouses, parents or siblings for adults, teachers and coaches for children—to get more information that might not be uncovered through a standard checklist. This information can help rule out other conditions that might cause the same symptoms, such as thyroid problems and seizure disorders.
Your doctor may also recommend a physical exam or bloodwork to rule out other medical causes of your or your child’s symptoms. He or she may also ask you to fill out a retrospective ADHD profile describing childhood behavior, and you’ll be asked about your or your child’s work or school performance.
To make an accurate diagnosis, your doctor will need to know how long you or your child has been experiencing symptoms and how severely they affect you. To do that, they’ll compare your or your child’s behavior to the behavior of others of the same age. They’ll also examine your or your child’s report cards and schoolwork and test them for other conditions that might be causing the same symptoms, such as depression, anxiety or learning disabilities.
Some tests used to assess ADHD in children are computer-based, while others involve measuring brain wave patterns. These can be helpful in identifying certain brain chemical imbalances that contribute to ADHD. But most experts agree that the best way to determine if you or your child has ADHD is through a detailed clinical interview.
Treatment
After completing the online screening, you should make an appointment with a doctor or mental health professional. He or she will likely interview you and someone who knows you well — a spouse, parent or sibling for an adult; a teacher or coach for a child — to get more insight into your behavior and emotions that can’t be gleaned from questionnaires alone.
The provider may do a physical exam and review family history and other records. The physical exam can rule out medical problems that can cause symptoms similar to ADHD, such as a thyroid disorder or seizures. The provider will ask questions geared to the patient’s age and may use a tool like the TOVA test, an FDA-cleared computerized test that measures response time and the ability to respond only to target stimuli. It can detect both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive types of ADHD.
If your symptoms suggest that you have inattentive or combined type ADHD, the provider will probably give you a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) evaluation. CBT teaches patients skills to manage their behavior and change negative thinking patterns into more positive ones. The goal is to help the patient improve functioning in school, work and relationships while minimizing the impact of their symptoms on daily life.
Many people feel relieved to finally have an explanation for their symptoms and are eager to start treatment. But it can be difficult to determine the best course of action. Treatment options range from psychoeducation, which includes learning more about ADHD and what it means to live with it, to behaviour management. This often involves a combination of therapies, including family and group support for children and adults, parenting classes, and cognitive behavioural therapy.
If you’re an adult, it can be especially hard to diagnose ADHD because the DSM-V symptom guide is mostly aimed at diagnosing children. You may need to visit a specialist in adult ADHD. You can find one by asking your primary care provider or a local hospital or university-based mental health clinic for recommendations. Most insurance plans also list specialists by area of specialty.
