2006-12-09 11:21:32 · 12 answers · asked by Lex 2 in Health ➔ Mental Health
A behavior scale is used. If the person is school-aged, an assessment of behaviors will be sent to the teachers who see the student the most. On it are a list of behaviors that the teacher checks if they have been observed, and also indicates the frequency of occurance.
The assessment is sent back to the family physician or mental health specialist who then does their own interview of the person and depending on the age, the family may also be interviewed.
The peices are put together and a diagnosis is made.
As a classroom teacher, I've seen many treated and untreated cases of Attention Deficit Disorder. Children who receive treatment get better almost instantly with medication. It is generally a stimulant that does not stay in the body more than 24 hours, which is why it needs to be administered daily. These children are happier, much more focused and much less disruptive to the educational process. Their academic performance is greatly enhanced and many learning disabilities are improved when gaps in learning can be made up due to increased attention to lectures and tasks. You can tell when they miss a dose of medication, because the old behaviors return, immediately.
Untreated children generally are miserable in school. They can be terribly distracting to the class. They are punished frequently for not following rules. In general, they make the class environment very unpleasant. It is hard to watch them suffer and fail needlessly because someone's pride prevents them from receiving the treatment they need. My advice to these parents is get your child the medication and don't tell anyone about it.
Medication does not always have to be the course of treatment, but alternatives take much assessment (for food allergies, for example) and much commitment on the parents' part to implement. Sadly, it is rarely followed through. Even children on medication often lack consistancy of treatment. Also sad.
Hope this information helped.
2006-12-09 11:35:55 · answer #1 · answered by Chris 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
ADD should be diagnosed by a psychologist or psychiatrist who is knowledgeable about ADD as well as giftedness and creativity. Avoid diagnosis by a pediatrician, since pediatricians as a group are far more likely to simply prescribe medications without properly assessing the child. Psychiatrists and neurologists are far more likely to prescribe medications before acquiring a total picture of the patient.
Adults, especially those with the non-hyperactive form of ADD, may have trouble finding a practitioner knowledgeable in ADD, since until recently ADD was considered a childhood condition. Women with ADD are often told they suffer from depression and are prescribed antidepressants which do not work.
Ask the practitioner what his or her ADD assessment entails. A good assessment typically runs several hours and will include tests for IQ and creativity. Avoid anyone who simply asks a few question and then prescribes medication to "see what happens." Most people do better and feel better on stimulants, even those without ADD, so this is a very bad approach for a professional to follow. For additional information and a checklist for children see my page called Children: Diagnosis, "Treatment" and Alternatives.
2006-12-09 12:18:58 · answer #2 · answered by Linda 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Go see your physician, And they will give you a question airre, and the ywill diagnose whether you got Add?HD according to the answers. itisn't the best way but itis the fastest and cheapest way. Also there is sleep deprived electroencephlogram or EEG for short, AD/HD have different brain wave patterns than normal people do. And they will also do a TOVA test which will show flashing pictures of square with ina cirlce of sorts and you must click ona button at a certain periond of time upon seeing that circle . and that determines if you have the disorder or not. TOVA measures the amount of attention span a person has.
2006-12-09 12:53:27 · answer #3 · answered by Velika 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Check with your doctor to find out where you can get it done, but when I got tested for it, they had me sit in front of a computer with letters changing at shifting speeds, and I had to hit the space bar whenever "x" appeared. It was boring and kind of hard.
Good luck!
2006-12-09 11:26:26 · answer #4 · answered by Wishful Writer 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
they check to see if the kids are not disciplined the right way, or not at all, and usually those kids will be hooked on powerful mind altering drugs for the made up disease of ADD.
2006-12-09 11:31:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Talk to your primary physician. If they are qualified to test for this, they can do the tests. They will have you do a number of things, from concentration tests, etc. (We just had our son tested).
Otherwise, your doctor can refer you to someone who is qualified.
2006-12-09 11:23:32 · answer #6 · answered by aronlove 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
depends on how old the person being tested is. if it is a child, they can get tested in school - ask to talk to the special education coordinator. if it is an adult, you should talk to your doctor - they can refer you to a testing center.
2006-12-09 11:24:49 · answer #7 · answered by Richard H 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They ask them several questions ranging from locate the ball on a page full of objects to recite a list of numbers backwards to me.
2006-12-09 11:25:43 · answer #8 · answered by j_son_06 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Well i went to my physican and told them i think i have it. They asked me some questions and i told them i cant concentrate. i usually have to read a sentence 3 or 4 times to get it and i forget what i am talking about a lot. They prescibed me adderall! its awesome
2006-12-09 11:29:52 · answer #9 · answered by Ash 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
They check to see how rich and gullible the parents are. There is no such thing as attention deficit disorder.
2006-12-09 11:25:34 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋