ADHD Adult Test - Important Steps in Diagnosing Adult ADHD
In an ADHD screening, your doctor will interview you about your family and personal history, environment, work and school performance. They will also conduct a medical history, including physical examination.
A complete ADHD assessment will include questions about your childhood and an assessment of any substance or alcohol use. Your doctor will inquire about any comorbid conditions which might be similar to the symptoms that are a result of ADHD.
Signs and symptoms
It is important for an adult who suspects they may be suffering from ADHD to talk to their primary care physician. They can assist you in understanding what it means to have ADHD and refer you to mental health treatment if needed. You can also locate an individual counselor in your area who is specialized in ADHD.
A healthcare professional will employ a tool to diagnose ADHD. This typically involves a thorough interview and an array of questions regarding symptoms. The examiner will want to know your background and if there were any significant events that occurred in your childhood that could have influenced your symptoms and behavior. The evaluator can inquire if you experienced trauma or an illness in your early childhood.
The evaluator then determines the severity of your symptoms. The evaluator will determine how much your impairments affect your daily functioning. For instance, if you have significant difficulty maintaining a job or interacting with your family members, this could qualify as impairment. This is an essential aspect of the diagnostic process, since it guarantees that your ADHD symptoms aren't than a mental health issue, such as depression or anxiety.
In addition to an in-depth clinical interview, the evaluator may also use standardized behavioral rating scales or ADHD symptom checklists. These tools can help to identify if you have six or more established ADHD symptoms in one of the two main categories -- inattention or hyperactivity-impulsivity. The evaluator will also conduct a neuropsychological, psychological or learning disabilities testing should it be required. These tests can provide information about working memory deficits and executive functions abilities, visual and spatial skills and other factors.
It is possible that you will be diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe ADHD symptoms according to your interview and symptom assessment. These levels are based on the extent to which ADHD symptoms affect you. For instance, mild ADHD symptoms will have a small impact on your social and work activities. Moderate ADHD symptoms have a greater impact on your life. The most severe ADHD symptoms can affect every aspect of your daily life.
Diagnosis
Diagnosing ADHD can be difficult especially for adults. While a lot of Internet websites offer checklists of symptoms and questionnaires, the sole legitimate diagnosis of ADHD is determined by a licensed mental health professional or doctor (psychiatrist or neurologist, or family doctor). The process of evaluation includes an interview with the person by the physician, and preferably with a person who is in constant contact with him or her, such as parents, spouses, sibling as well as a coach or teacher or babysitter. Other important steps include assessing the impact of symptoms on the individual in school or at work, as well as at home and with friends; taking an extensive medical history and determining if the symptoms are better explained by a different illness.
When looking at an adult's health, the physician will compare the patient's signs with those listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition. This guide lists the symptoms used to diagnose ADHD in adolescents and children. However, due to the differences between adults and children this guideline is not always appropriate for diagnosing adults suffering from the disorder. The doctor may also employ the Brown Attention-Deficit Test for Symptom Assessment Scale for adults that is a self-report test with 40 items that evaluates various aspects of the symptoms of ADHD.
During the interview with the patient, the clinician will also be looking to learn more about the individual's early life. Many adults with ADHD don't remember their childhoods well, or at all. The clinician will need to get as much information from the individual's relatives as well as teachers and others who have met them in the past.
The doctor will ask the individual to complete a questionnaire to assess how they react to specific situations like not attending an appointment or losing their keys. The doctor will also discuss the individual's lifestyle and the family and work history. In addition, the physician will request an inventory of the medications the patient takes as well as the current symptoms. The physician will determine whether the symptoms are due to other conditions, such as anxiety or depression and then decide on the appropriate treatment plan.
Treatment
Accurate diagnosis of adult ADHD will help you get the appropriate treatment. Some people with ADHD also have comorbid disorders such as anxiety and mood disorders that require treatment. Others suffer from physical issues that can affect their symptoms. Whatever the reason of symptoms is, most adults suffering from this disorder can benefit from an individualized psychotherapy program and medication.
Typically an expert in mental health will perform the evaluation for ADHD. The doctor will inquire about the patient's medical history and also inquire about their work, school and private lives. He may conduct a psychological exam or request to talk to a spouse, parent or sibling for more details that can't be obtained from questionnaires. Based on the circumstances, a physical or neurological exam could be required.
The evaluator will use rating scales and other tools to determine if you or your child has established symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity/impulsivity for the past six months. The evaluator may ask family members, coworkers or teachers to obtain more information. He may ask you or your child to recall the way you behaved when you were a child. Some experts believe this type of interview is an essential element of a thorough ADHD evaluation for adults as well as children.
Other tests could include a psychological test and cognitive behavioral therapy in order to address issues with behavior or thoughts such as "thought distorsions" or self defeating beliefs. A cognitive behavioral therapist can help you or your children replace these unhealthy habits and beliefs with healthier ones.
Your therapist can help you create strategies to improve your organizational skills, such as using a daily planner or making lists of tasks. They can help you learn to manage your impulsive behavior and decrease the amount of risk you take. They can also suggest a groups of support like an ADHD or life coach.
Adults suffering from ADHD might find relief from stimulant medication like amphetamines and methylphenidates. These medications are believed to boost the brain's natural levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that affects attention and motor coordination. However, these drugs are only prescribed to people who have a specific diagnosis and meet specific criteria for the disorder.
Counseling
In some instances, people are directed to a specialist, without even having ADHD. This can result in distress for those who are referred to, inefficiency of healthcare resources, and increased costs. Unsuitable referrals can result in an over-diagnosis of ADHD (increasing the risk of using stimulants, which may be a source of diversion and abuse in some cases) and can increase the number of people who are diagnosed with ADHD even though their symptoms are due to other psychiatric conditions such as depression or anxiety.
A thorough ADHD evaluation should include a detailed diagnostic interview conducted by a trained doctor. This can include questions about the person's day-to-day life whether at work or in school and their relationships with family and friends, drug and alcohol usage and driving history, medical issues and their mental health history from childhood to now. adhd testing in adults will be looking to see how many of the criteria used to diagnose ADHD apply to the individual (inattentiveness hyperactivity, impulsiveness and inattention). They will also look into whether the symptoms of ADHD cause impairment.
Standardized questionnaires and scales of rating to assess ADHD symptoms can be helpful. These can be administered either by the evaluator, or by an independent source like spouse. They are particularly helpful in cases where the person is uncertain of their own symptoms or believes that they have other causes for their issues. The evaluator could request that the person fill out an retrospective ADHD behavior profile from their childhood.
Psychological tests can be used to assess a person's cognitive functioning as well as their emotional state and behavior. This can include clinical interviews, rating scales, behavioral observations, neuropsychological tests, intelligence tests and mood tests. This provides a more complete picture than a single diagnostic interview and can help to inform the treatment, accommodations, and intervention plans.