What Is Typical in an ADHD Evaluation?

Most of the questionnaires have my kid's doctor's name at the top. I think he knows his stuff. He will tell you that they are not necessary to diagnose. Yes he uses them but it is mostly to figure out the big picture.

I mean you can tell just by talking to parents. What you can't tell is where the challenges are, where and what therapy works best.

I take meds, my kids take meds, you just don't know how much that helps. Still without therapy, learning how to function when you aren't on meds, even while on meds not leaning too hard on the meds, without therapy, coping skills, you will never be functional.

Using the born without a leg analogy, so you fit him with a prosthetic leg, because clearly his leg is missing, and have a nice day. Do you really think your son would have a chance of walking like a normal kid?

ADHD is no different, the meds will make your brain function normally ish but to function like you were born that way takes a lot of therapy. That means those god awful bubbles from hell! same questions worded fifty different ways.

I'm a teacher. Every student I have ever had who was tested for ADHD had an evaluation for me to fill out. Talk to your pediatrician. There is much more to getting a diagnosis than what this "doctor" did. Usually the parents fill out a lengthy evaluation. The teacher does one and possibly anyone else who might work closely with a student (like a coach, daycare provider, etc.). Don't fill the prescription. ADHD meds need to be monitored. Sometimes it takes several tries to get the right dosage. Most students I have had who have started meds while in my classroom had at least 1-2 changes in dosage before it was right. Get a 2nd opinion from a medical doctor.

What you experienced was not even remotely close to an evaluation.

A proper evaluation for a school aged child involves both home and school input from multiple sources when possible, interviews with the parents *and* the child, plus there are other diagnostic activities to narrow down a child's particular needs. It's a process that takes some time.

Yeah, no.
First of all, I would not just jump into medication, even if it is ADHD, without at least trying some alternatives or researching medications.
But secondly, that is not an adequate evaluation. There are extensive questionnaires given to the teachers and parents, there are computer based tests and one on one tests that are given to evaluate actual performance, and there are so many other things that can affect behavior and produce these "symptoms." Fidgeting is not abnormal behavior for 9 year old boys! It just isn't. Your son deserves a better evaluation than that.

My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD - Inattentive Subtype (ADD). She's in second grade and had exhibited signs of ADD for the past two years, but we assumed she was a bit young to really check it out. When our second grade teacher called us about her inattention the second week of school, we decided it was time to check her out. Our doctor sent us four evaluations forms - two for my husband and me and two for different teachers she meets with. Based on the evaluations, and an appointment with the doctor, he made the diagnosis. He then referred us to a pediatric behavioral health practitioner, whom we met with a few times to work through the issues and confirm that she did in fact have ADD. It wasn't until after we tried numerous things at home and at school (without the aid of medication) and found they didn't work, that we decided to try a medication. So, this took about 3 - 3 1/2 months of evaluation, trial/error, etc. So, you absolutely need a second opinion, if not about the diagnosis in general, then definitely about the medication. This is not something I personally took lightly, and it doesn't sound like you are either. I was so against the medication at first, but we found that it was the only thing to help my daughter succeed in school. But as I said, that was AFTER months of trial and error and a few visits to the doctor. I will tell you that a strict routine is ideal, on or off meds too. In the meantime, get another opinion. You will figure this out, and he will blossom so much more than he already is! Good luck to you and your family!

I'm inclined to agree with Julie S on this one. It's not so much that the doctor determined your son has ADHD with very little input. That part doesn't surprise me too much. And for those who have true ADHD, it's really asking a lot of them to function in this world without the meds. The meds are huge in helping their brain operate effectively.

What so often gets missed by parents and some educators is that the meds alone are not going to do the trick. For most people, the meds are not a magic pill to solve all their problems. There are many things they need to learn in order to behave appropriately in school and other situations.

Our son (6) was diagnosed just a few months ago. We were so, so lucky in that the medicine the doctor started him on worked well for him. He did need a change in the does, but other than that it's been great. But it didn't change his behavior overnight (much to his teacher's disappointment). Because he's been trying to function for 6 years without the medicine, he has learned coping strategies that are not socially appropriate. He needs to relearn much of his behavior, and that is going to take time and practice. He needs the other services we have found for him. He is making great progress, but it is a work in progress and not an overnight change.

My point is, I do think you need to find a doctor that will help your son and your family in more ways that just meds. The meds could be very important, so I wouldn't dismiss them out of hand. But your son will probably need some help relearning some of his habits.

Not how it normally goes! It was an extremely long process with Kaiser. Started with the pediatrician, who referred us to a child psychologist for tips for managing our son's behavior. After those tips didn't work, we were referred to a behavioral therapist. A ton of forms for us and the teachers. More tips that didn't work. Our son was then kicked out of preschool and we got to meet with a child psychiatrist (the specialist you really want to see). The psychiatrist is a doctor who is qualified to conduct a thorough evaluation. She reviewed his now-long medical history, met with us and him and concluded he had "strong indicators of ADHD." We took ADHD parenting classes. We started ADHD treatment but the actual diagnosis took two years from start to finish due to his age. Nothing remotely rushed, even though at 12 we now know our son's case of ADHD is extreme and he was pretty much a neon sign for the condition.

I wouldn't settle for that rushed evaluation or prescription. Our prescription discussions alone are very long, determining the pros and cons of each option. And a prescription certainly wasn't discussed without talk of therapy with it.

Definitely get a second opinion.

My son had a full evaluation done earlier this year. The process:
1st-- a private consult with husband and I (I brought questionnaires filled out by myself and his current teacher)

2nd-- (separate day) a 3 hour evaluation which was performed by a professional (in this case, a psychometrist who works closely with the doctor who happens to be a psychologist)-- I was not present for this. (they like to see how kids do without parental help/influence)

3rd-- follow up with mom and dad (child was present for part) discussing results/recommendations

And we are doing counseling sessions with the doctor to help us as a family with new tools and strategies for helping our son manage his attention and focus.

I'm so sorry you have had a bad experience-- I can understand your hesitation not to go forward with medication until you have a thorough evaluation for your son. What I did like about this eval process was that it wasn't deficit-focused, meaning that we found out some really neat things regarding Kiddo's unique strengths, too. Julie S is right-- from my experience, just 'fixing' with medication isn't the only piece of the puzzle-- the counseling/therapeutic work in providing strategies and structure in helping our kids -- and ourselves-- is so important. Our kids need this help. :) As to whether to use medication or not, that's a choice every parent has to make. I'll be looking into this myself as we move forward to see if this is the right option. I will say, as someone who has a healthy sense of the pros and cons of medication-- medication is one tool, a good one when used well, but not a panacea. That no other support/strategies/counseling was offered to you is just puzzling to me.

This sounds like a medication factory to me. You and your son deserve better. Insist on it. Get another referral and look at ways to deal with this besides medication as the only therapy.

My daughter may have qualified as having ADD. The bottom line for us though was that we were not medicating her. People have all kinds of disabilities. (Missing limbs, hearing loss etc.) What do they do...they adapt. There was no way I was going to put my daughter on medication where the docs don't know the long term effects on the brain.

My daughter however was functioning (if she couldn't function I would have considered drugs), just probably not as high as she could have with meds. Now she is in 11th grade and she has figured things out and how to get things done etc. I am so glad we never labeled her or medicated her.

Uh...I think you need to talk to your pediatrician.
He needs testing.
Teachers will be asked to fill out questionnaires.
I don't think you can do behavioral therapy (alobe) without data collection, etc.

i can't say for sure, never having had to do this, but i think i'd be right there with you. it may well be that medication is the best way to handle it, but there's no way i'd leap into it on this cursory an 'evaluation.'
khairete
S.

Medical doctors aren't really the ones I'd say should be doing this.

I think you should consider this. The med he gave your son, it might be the same exact med another doc would give him regardless of how brief the evaluation was.

I took my grandson to a person through the health department for sensory issues. They sent a questionnaire to Head Start where each of his teachers filled them out. My husband filled one out, I filled one out, and anyone we wanted to have input filled one out. They said they'd never seen questionnaires all filled out so alike.

We continued through this and took him to the ABC clinic at Children's Hospital in OKC where they did all sorts of evaluations. He was below normal in a couple of areas and fine in others. He was also behind in a couple of skills and normal in others.

We had my grandson on Ritalin, a whole pill in the morning and half at lunch. He can do fine with that for the most part.

I would report the doctor. If that was really all there was to it, he was negligent. Your son would need multiple evaluations and at this point, most doctors want you to try lifestyle changes prior to medication.

And echoing everyone else, go to different (real) doctor!