ADD /ADHD diagnosis

[tinatark]

We are thinking of having our 14 year old tested for ADD/ADHD - if your child (or teen, or adult) has been diagnosed, what type of doctor did you go to?

 

[Chris2597]

My ds23 was diagnosed 2 yrs ago with ADD. I took him to a psychiatrist as he was having panic attacks occasionally for no reason (at least that we could figure out). The dr talked with ds for a time and gave him meds for ADD. The results have been amazing. I occasionally wondered while he was in elementary and middle school if he might have ADD but he was an over-achiever in school...so it fell through the cracks.

 

[minkydog]

DS23 has severe ADD. He was diagnosed by a child psychiatrist. I had a hard time with that concept for a long while--I just didn't want to admit that my child needed one. But I came to realize that psychiatrists are experts in their field and very knowledgeable about the meds. I figured, if one of us had a heart attack we'd get a specialist in cardiology so why would it be strange to seek out a psychologist for a brain dysfunction? I got over it.

 

[brios86]

I talked to my regular doctor about it once, she gave me a questionaire and I left with 2 weeks worth of free samples of some ADD med and an appoint to come back and see how it went.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Psychiatrist first who referred us to a psychologist. The psychologist evaluated and tested my daughter. The psychiatrist was needed for meds which we have since dropped. She will return to a psychiatrist/psychologist as needed.

Our family doctor will not handle treatment for ADD/ADHD.

It is also recommended to have their vision checked if the problem is focusing issues and reading difficulties. Evidently if there is some ocular motor issues, tracking issues and other types of eye related issues not necessarily pertaining to the typical "do you need glasses" type of appts--the symptoms can mimic ADHD when it truly is a vision problem requiring vision therapy.

Just another avenue to check out.

I am working on at-home vision therapy with my daughter. (If I see improvement, I may consider getting her vision checked. For now though, I am seeing some issues with some seemingly simple exercises which I was not expecting.)

Some of the learning centers will test your child as well--however they can get pricey and their treatment plans are in the $2000-$3000 range. I have a friend who had her child evaluated and treated in that manner, but mom's parents paid for it. I think the test by itself was supposedly $995, but "free" with treatment plan. Some of what they do on the treatment plan sounds simliar to vision therapy.

 

[5 for WDW]

Our son is 12 and has ADD. We first discussed it with his Pediatrician who referred us to a Psychologist for testing. Once the diagnosis was made, the two Dr's came up with a treatment plan. Our Ped has been treating our son since.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Mandychelle79]

The CRNP at our family doctor is very well versed in ADD/ADHD and she was the one who made the diagnosis. My DD is primarily inattentive ADD and thats the type who typically fall through the cracks because they dont disrupt the class, just cant keep focused. We had to fill out forms and so did the teacher. Results were as expected and she responds very well to her medication, and we do vacations in the summer and work with behavior mods to eventually be able to have her able to control it ( Im pretty sure Im undiagnosed add and have learned to control it more, but i still tend to hop subjects)

 

[barkley]

for ds we did testing to rule out other factors that could cause symptoms that often appear like adhd-hearing test, vision test, and allergies. when those issues were ruled out we were referred to a child psychiatrist who had any adults who spent on-going time with him in different environments/social situations fill out questioneers (in school, in extracurriculars, in one on one parental/babysitter) to determine if the symptoms were only existing in a limited type of situation or across the board (with ds it was definatly across the board), the results of the testing combined with the psychiatrist's observations of a period of a few appointments with ds led to the final diagnosis.

ds initialy took oral meds but he's used the patch method of meds for the past 2 1/2 years to much greater success.

 

[Christine]

Our pediatrician referred us to Children's Hospital. They have a Hyperactivity and Learning Disorders Clinic that specializes in the diagnosis of mental disorders, ADHD, and learning disorders. My pediatrician sends all his patients there because so many learning disorders can mimic ADHD as well as depression and anxiety mimicking ADHD. He felt that a psychiatrist/psychologist alone was not sufficient to ferret out all the possibilities.

So we met with a "team" which included a psychiatrist, psychologist, neurologist, and social workers. The process took a total about 15 hours (over days) to complete and we were given a diagnosis and recommendations. It was very thorough. Sometimes you will hear this called a neuro-psych evaluation and I believe it is now the gold standard for ADHD and learning disabilities.

 

[luvsJack]

In 7th grade, DS was diagnosed by a pediatrician; who is considered to be the "expert" around here for ADD/ADHD. He took meds all through jr. high and high school but as an adult he was re-diagnosed as bi polar. The ADD/HD meds helped some and luckily the ped had prescribed an antidepressant to go along with the Adderal, so that helped too. Once he got on the meds for bi-polar though we really saw the difference in him.

If you have that option, I would strongly recommend going with the neuro-psych evaluation method of diagnosis. It would lessen the possibility of misdiagnosis.

 

[Chris2597]

A question for those with adult children on ADD meds or they themselves take the meds. DS is in job search mode and we are concerned with how these meds will be percieved by employers that do drug testing. The dr said the drugs will show up on pre-employment drug testing, but that the lab should call DS and that it will be ok once he shows an RX. The dr said that the employer will not even be made aware of the RX as it falls under HIPA. Anyone with experience with this?? Is this how is works?