Home
>
Parenting
>
How to Get a Good Diagnosis to See If Your Child Has ADHD

How to Get a Good Diagnosis to See If Your Child Has ADHD

Your child's teacher says that you need to find out if your child has ADHD or not. What do you do? Here are some tips from the ADHD Information Library.

First, find a clinician, a Psychologist, or Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist, or Psychiatrist, who has a good working knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD or ADHD. Most mental health professionals do NOT know much about the disorder, even if they tell you that they do. During my formal training in psychology at both the Master's level and the Doctorate level I received about 15 minutes of training on ADHD. Find an expert in your community.

Ask parents at your local CHADD meeting about who the best doctor and the best therapist in your area are. Then call your local psychiatric hospital and ask for either the Children's Unit or the Adolescent Unit Charge Nurse. Ask the nurse who the best doctor and therapist for treating Attention Deficit Disorder are. Once you have a name or two, call the professional on the phone and give them a two minute interview.

Keep the phone call brief. They are busy people too. Ask them questions such as, "What percentage of your practice is with Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD ADHD children or teens?" "How many years experience do you have in treating ADD ADHD individuals?" "How do you do a diagnostic work-up for Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD ADHD?" and "What treatment options are you familiar with in the treatment of ADD ADHD?" Based on their answers you will know whether or not you will want to work with them.

Read this entire add information library web site. Once you have read the 80 or so pages of information at that site for parents you will be ready to meet with the professional who will do the assessment, and perhaps the treatment. If the professional seems to know more than you do (after you've spent time preparing) then that is a good sign. If they seem to know less than you now do, then that is a bad sign. Why pay money to someone who knows less than you do?

Find the Expert -- do what he recommends -- and pay him what he's worth.

Ask to have a thorough assessment done, including a parent interview, a child interview, parent and teacher rating scales, and TOVA testing as appropriate. Emotional conditions that could also be causing ADHD-like symptoms must be ruled out.

If the diagnosis is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder what should you do?

Never give up YOUR responsibility as your child's parent to any professional (medical, psychological, or educational). If they are experts, get information and opinions based on their experience. Trust their judgment and learn from their wisdom. But YOU are the parent. Once your child or teen has had a good work up, and you have a "righteous" diagnosis you will have a lot of decisions to make regarding treatment. But always remember that YOU are the parent.

It is YOUR job to get all of the information that you can from the experts and make the decisions regarding your child's treatment. No professional will ever love your child as much as you do. Educate yourself until you are an expert! Read lots of books, vist each of the ADHD Information Library's family of web sites, talk to lots of people who know what they are talking about. Subscribe to our newsletter. As Solomon said, "My son, get Wisdom and Knowledge." You need to become an expert NOW!

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library's family of seven web sites, including add information library , helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.

monthly home cleaning Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

How to Get a Good Diagnosis to See If Your Child Has ADHD

Parenting