Helping Children & Adults with ADHD Testing
As a neurodevelopmental disorder, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can affect you or your child's everyday life, including social relationships, academic performance, and day-to-day tasks. Offical testing can help you or you child know if you're dealing with one of the 3 types of ADHD: Inattentive Type (previously known as ADD), Hyperactive / Impulsive Type, or Combined Type.
Symptoms of ADHD in Children
Children with ADHD generally show signs before they're 12 years old. Symptoms usually occur across multiple environments and can include thing like an inability to focus, pay attention, remember things, follow directions, stay organized, complete tasks, inhibit impulses, and even sit still. For a more comprehensive list of symptoms, check out our ADHD Resources page.
Diagnosing ADHD in Children and Adolescents
Diagnosing ADHD in children must be done with great care and take into consideration a child's developmental level. ADHD behaviors can result in significant problems with relationships and learning. When difficulties begin to interfere with day-to-day functioning, parents will want to seek consultation with an experienced ADHD testing professional. And once properly diagnosed, custom behavioral treatments such as creating structure, encouraging routines, stating expectations, and training for social skills can be very helpful.
How We Can Help with ADHD Testing and Beyond
ADHD can be difficult to accurately diagnose as many different factors can contribute to an individual’s struggle with focus and attention, which is why a formal evaluation by an expert is critical to determining if your child truly has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. It's important to choose a qualified professional to correctly determine if your child's problems are due to ADHD, a different cause, or a combination of causes.
Treating ADHD in children and teens often involves medical, educational and behavioral interventions. Once identified, children with ADHD and their families can often benefit from structured therapy by setting up individually-tailored behavioral interventions, learning strategies, and parent training. Before starting on a medication or specific treatment, it is important to have a formal evaluation to determine the individual meets criteria for ADHD.
Behavioral treatment for ADHD is important because children with ADHD often face problems in daily life that go well beyond their symptoms of inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These can include poor academic performance and behavior at school, poor relationships with peers and siblings, failure to obey adult requests and poor relationships with their parents. Addressing these challenges is critical because they have implications for how children with ADHD will do as they develop into teens and then adults. While there is no true "cure" to these conditions, with supportive parents, early testing , behavioral therapy interventions, and in some cases psychotropic medication, individuals have a better chance of becoming well-adjusted and successful.