Parent’s Guide to an ADHD Diagnosis & Evaluation
As a child psychologist in San Diego, CA, I work with parents of kids with ADHD and also evaluate children to determine if they have ADHD.
If you are looking into the process of understanding whether or not your child has ADHD, the process can be daunting and confusing. It’s important to understand the process of an evaluation, who can diagnose ADHD, as well as what you can expect after going through the evaluation.
In this blog post, you’ll learn about what to expect if your child is being evaluated for ADHD.
Benefits of an ADHD Diagnosis
Many parents are concerned about the stigma attached to an ADHD diagnosis, and if it is beneficial or worth pursuing. Although there may be concerns and stigma associated with an ADHD diagnosis, it can also open up several different opportunities and has benefits to pursuing.
Increased understanding of your child
A way for them and you to know how to support them
Additional support services (e.g., 504/IEP, medication, therapy)
Accommodation services at school
Who Should You Go To For an ADHD Diagnosis:
If you do decide to pursue an ADHD evaluation, you can choose several different routes. Typically, I recommend parents first contact their child’s pediatrician to determine if an evaluation can be done through them or someone else.
Pediatricians:
Many different mental health providers can provide an ADHD diagnosis and an evaluation. If you are a parent of a child who you suspect has ADHD, it can be helpful to go to your child’s pediatrician as a first step to understanding if your child has ADHD.
Pediatricians can diagnose ADHD and may also provide you and your family with screening measures (such as the Vanderbilt) to assist in their assessment of ADHD). If you are looking into an evaluation by your pediatrician, you can schedule an appointment with their office and note your concerns of potential ADHD.
Psychologists:
If a pediatrician doesn’t feel comfortable diagnosing ADHD or if they would prefer a more extensive evaluation to rule out other concerns (e.g., anxiety), your child’s pediatrician may refer you to a psychologist for a comprehensive evaluation.
A psychological evaluation can be helpful in understanding the full picture of what your child is going through including their overall learning style, cognitive functioning, strengths, and other areas of concern.
To find a psychologist in your area to diagnose ADHD, you can look at Psychology Today, through your insurance panel, or a Google search in your area for a psychologist.
Psychological evaluations tend to be more in-depth and require more hours of testing to understand the concerns. As an ADHD child psychologist in San Diego, CA, I provide evaluations for children and teens with potential ADHD.
Psychiatrists:
Psychiatrists are medical doctors with training in psychiatric concerns, such as ADHD. Psychiatrists are able to prescribe medication, diagnose mental health disorders, and provide therapy. Given that medication is one helpful treatment option for ADHD, speaking with a psychiatrist can be beneficial to explore medication options as well.
What to Expect at the Evaluation
Regardless of who is doing the evaluation, there are several things that you can expect to occur at the evaluation for your child’s ADHD. Typically, the professional will meet with you, your family, and your child. Sometimes professionals meet with your child alone for some of the evaluation time.
During the evaluation you can expect the professional to discuss the following range of topics with you:
Medical history
History of development (e.g., milestones)
When concerns for ADHD started
Symptoms related to inattention and hyperactivity
How these symptoms impair your child’s day-to-day life
Daycare, preschool, and school behavior
Common co–occurring concerns (e.g., learning disabilities, anxiety, depression)
The evaluation will likely also involve a combination of an interview, observations, and completion of standardized assessments (e.g., Vanderbilt, Conners). If there are learning concerns, the evaluator may also utilize academic achievement tests to determine if your child’s learning concerns are related to ADHD or a learning disorder.
How Long the Evaluation Will Take
The length of time an evaluation will take depends on your individual child as well as who is diagnosing your child. In general, a psychologist's evaluation will take more time than a pediatrician because a psychologist will do further testing that a pediatrician will not do.
The amount of time that an evaluation can take for your child will vary from 30 minutes to many hours. A psychological evaluation may require your child to participate in 3-5 hours of testing to rule out other concerns.
The psychologist will take breaks or may split up the testing session into several days. How long it will take to get the results of the evaluation back will vary depending on who you are seeing.
When you are contacting providers about what to expect with an evaluation, you can ask them how long it will take to receive the evaluation back. When I conduct evaluations, the total time takes approximately one month for clients to go through the testing and to receive the results.
How to Prepare for the Evaluation
There are a few things that you and your family can do to best prepare for the evaluation. These steps will help the provider evaluating your child better understand you and your family.
Keep a detailed log of ADHD symptoms that your child may be experiencing. Inattention symptoms of ADHD include difficulty focusing, distractibility, forgetfulness, frequently losing things, and not listening when spoken to.
Hyperactivity symptoms may present as low frustration tolerance, avoiding things that require work, difficulty staying seated, interrupting, difficulty playing quietly. Note how these symptoms affect your child at home, at school, and what others have said about your child.
Bring any relevant documents and records to the evaluation appointment. If your child has been evaluated in the past, it is helpful to bring a copy of the past evaluation so that the evaluator can review past results of the evaluation.
Additionally, if your child has received any school records that discuss behavioral challenges (e.g., notes from teachers), that can be helpful to see as well. Additionally, if your child has an IEP or 504 plan, a copy of this can be an asset to the evaluator.
When preparing your child for the evaluation, I recommend that parents are honest with their children about the reason for their evaluation as well as what to expect during the evaluation.
You can let your child know what to expect at the evaluation as well as the purpose of the evaluation is to find ways to support them at home and school.
After the Evaluation
After the evaluation is completed, you may receive a diagnosis and recommendations for how to support your child. When you receive the results of the evaluation, you can ask any clarifying questions with the evaluator. If you disagree with the results of the evaluation, ask the evaluator how they came to the conclusions with the results of the evaluation. If you do disagree, you can seek a second opinion through a different evaluation.
Should Your Child Be Re-Evaluated
If your child is diagnosed with ADHD or isn’t, you may be wondering if it is worth having your child re-evaluated. If your child is diagnosed with ADHD, it is not typically recommended they be re-evaluated again unless there is a change in how they are doing, or if you see new concerns showing up at home or school. This is because ADHD is considered a lifelong diagnosis that can be managed but that isn’t able to be cured. For example, if your child begins refusing to go to school, it may be worth an evaluation to determine if there are concerns about anxiety or a learning disorder.
If your child transitions into college, their disability services program at the school may require a more recent evaluation in order to receive accommodations at school. If they do, this would be an optimal time to receive another evaluation.
If you are seeking an IEP or 504 plan, your school will also likely evaluate your child in addition to the evaluation that a mental health professional has done. This is because a school is evaluating your child for special education eligibility, which differs from a mental health professional’s medical evaluation for a diagnosis. It’s important to note that if your child has an IEP, they will be re-evaluated by the school every 3 years. This is to see their current level of functioning and to determine appropriate support for them.
Supporting Your Child
Regardless of if your child has a diagnosis of ADHD, there are ways to support them and these should be mentioned at the evaluation. For example, pediatricians may make a referral to a parenting group for you to learn specialized skills to support your child and their behavioral concerns.
If your child does have a diagnosis of ADHD, they may benefit from you learning parenting skills specifically for children with ADHD.
If you have any other questions about this blog post, feel free to reach out to me via DM or by sending me an email.
Best,
Dr. Carrie
