Adhd

[Nasem]

I been reading into alot of the ADHD or ADD symptoms and I feel like I might have it.... all my friends sometimes make fun of me because its hard for me to focus on a specific topic for a long time during a conversation, anyways,

What kind of doctor do you go to if you think you have ADHS/ADD? is it a Psychologist or a Psychiatrist? What kind of exams would they run to see if your "attention" keeps jumping around?

Thanks

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[michalita]

You can go to a psychologist / clinical social worker / counselor who specializes in ADHD or one who includes that in his/her knowledge base. You also may have other things that you want to rule out before getting diagnosed, including medical issues, so be sure to see your primary care doctor first for a physical work-up. In terms of seeing a clinician, be sure to see someone who has experience with a wide range of issues because other issues can present as ADD symptoms (ie PTSD, anxiety, depression, bipolar). If you are diagnosed with ADHD, you will be referred to a psychiatrist for med management, if you choose to use meds to control symptoms.

Hope that helps. PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

We cannot offer any medical advice, but I think michalita's general advice about being able to rule out medical issues, and then working with a specialist if necessary is a sound suggestion.

-t

 

[Nasem]

alright, no medical advice,
but I am curious, how do they test for ADHD or ADD? Its not a simple questions and answers... is it?

 

[amy203]

Nope, no lab tests can be used to diagnose ADHD (and a clinician who tells you otherwise is a bad doctor!) The diagnosis is based on the DSM-IV criteria, so yes, it's question and answer (possibly both from you and someone else who knows you well). BTW - this is how the vast majority of psychological disorders are diagnosed.

The website below might answer some of your questions. Unfortunately, it's focused on children, but should still be able to help (try to ignore the novice web design - the information is great!). It's hard to find good info on ADHD on the internet; most of the sites are either extremist, Tom Cruise style "Ritalin is evil and will kill you children!!!" type sites, or they are sponsored by drug companies. This one is very balanced:

http://www.sandiegoadhd.org/Families/diagnosis.htm

Good luck!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

ADD and ADHD are not easily Dx'ed, even though many hand out the Dx like candy. A combination of things are needed to properly Dx ADD or ADHD (in addition to meeting the DSM-IV criteria).....those things include: clinical interview, objective assessments, behavioral observation, etc.

I've dabled in ADHD.......i'm 2/2 today with my research topics! (the other EDs, another thread from today)

-t

 

[amy203]

Yeah, there's definitely an art to the diagnosis. Nasem, I'd look for someone with lots of experience diagnosing ADHD in your age group and, possibly, with your gender (doctors tend to miss it in females). Also, again, it shouldn't be diagnosed with a lab test or just through observation (for instance, I know from experience that plenty of kids can function perfectly well in the doctors office but you hear a whole different story from their teachers - I assume the same thing applies to adults).

T4C - Heh - I spent the past 2 years studying ADHD and got so sick of the whole "how do we diagnose ADHD?, what if they almost but don't quite meet criteria?, what if one informant endorses it and not the other?, ahhhhhh!" that I kind of don't want to go near it now.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I was lucky enough (maybe?) during my research to work with VERY ADHD kids, where it wasn't a question of Dx, it was trying to evaluate Tx methods in a particular setting.

-t

 

[amy203]

See, I was in a pediatrics clinic serving primarily low-income, minority populations. So our average patient was a kid who also met criteria for ODD, lived in an incredibly stressful environment, had attended multiple schools, and, in many cases, had parent's who didn't speak English. Yeah, good times.