Does My Child Need An ADHD Assessment?

BAY AREA, CA – Dr. Michael Rubino, a Bay Area psychotherapist who has worked with teens for more than 18 years, addresses screening your child for Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder.

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School is starting, and many parents will receive reports from their child's teacher that will cause them to ask, "Does my child have ADHD?"

I hear this very often and do many assessments on children to determine if a child has ADHD. Yes, ADHD is really a disorder, but too many teachers and schools rush to the conclusion that a child has ADHD.

According to statistics by the American Psychological Association, 5 percent of children in the United States have ADHD. It is also more common in males, and it does tend to run in families. However, not every child who has ADHD requires medication. Many children can be treated with psychotherapy and behavior modification.

Therefore, if your child is diagnosed with ADHD do not rush to medicate your child. There are different subtypes of ADHD and different severities of the diagnosis.

If you feel your child may have ADHD or their school suggests the idea, make sure you have your child appropriately assessed. In the past, schools would often diagnosis children with ADHD. Schools are no longer supposed to make this diagnosis. If they feel a child might have ADHD, they are supposed to have your child evaluated.

If you are going to have your child evaluated for ADHD, make sure you take your child to a mental health clinician who specializes in children and in doing assessments. The assessment for ADHD is not very difficult and an appropriate evaluation by an appropriate mental health clinician should cost around $250 depending on where you live.

I have seen some parents who have spent thousands of dollars getting CT scans, MRIs and PET scans. You do not need an expensive scan of your child's brain to diagnosis ADHD.

The DSM V, the diagnostic manual that mental health clinicians use, list the criteria needed for the diagnosis.

I am including a link to the Center for Disease Control which list the criteria for the diagnosis and other information about ADHD: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html.

Typically, the diagnosis can be made by a clinician interviewing the parents, having a play session or two with the child and observing the child at school or consulting with the teachers. However, remember if you are going to have your child evaluated for ADHD, you want a mental health clinician who specializes in treating children and assessing children for ADHD. Your child's pedestrian should be able to refer you to someone, or if you call your insurance providers, they will probably have referrals.

Before you rush to have your child assessed, remember some basic facts.

Most children between the ages of 2 to 5 are very active. They also have very short attention spans. Sometimes you need to give a child some time to mature, especially if you have a boy. Remember, boys mature slower than girls and tend to be more active than girls. It is important to keep these facts in mind when you are wondering if your child has ADHD.

Now, if you child is more hyperactive than other kids his age or his attention span is shorter than most kids his age, there might be an issue. Also if there is a strong history of ADHD in the family, such as his father had ADHD as a child and paternal and maternal uncles all had ADHD as children, there might be an issue.

Also if your child was born premature or there were complications during the pregnancy or childbirth, there might be an issue. Premature babies or babies with a difficult pregnancy or birth are more likely to have ADHD and learning disabilities.

Bottom line, if someone suggests that your child has ADHD, don't rush to the pediatrician seeking medication.

Compare your child's behavior to other children and consider the risk factors. If your child doesn't have many risk factors for ADHD, maybe wait six months and reassess the situation. The most important thing to remember is if you decide to have your child assessed for ADHD, make sure you go to a mental health clinician who specializes in children and ADHD.

You want a mental health clinician who specializes in treating children with ADHD and assessing children for ADHD.

Also remember you do not need any expensive scans like a CT!

For more information about Dr. Michael Rubino and his private practice in Pleasant Hill, visit his website at www.rcs-ca.com or his Facebook page www.Facebook.com/Drrubino3.

Also from Dr. Rubino, see:

• The Deadly Teenage Heroin Epidemic
• Understanding How Your Teenager Thinks

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(Image via Shutterstock)