What do I expect when the school tests for ADHD?

Mary, the school cannot disagnose for ADHD only a Doctor, Pediatrician, a Neuropsych, a psychiatrist, neurologist… can diagnose ADHD. I am presuming you are in the U.S.

The school can fill out forms reporting his behavior (attention, restlessness, ect). They cannot conclude its cause. If you already know he is ADHD, I would politely decline any feedback from them, unless you think it would be useful. I would simply say that you know he is ADHD, the question is whether he is LD also.

I certainly would have him take his medication while he is tested for LD.

Beth

just so that you know even if your child is not ADHD the meds will still help. Has he actually been through the full testing for ADHD? I am ADHD and to get a true diagnosis I had to go trough 6 hours of testing broken down into 3 days. There are actual tests that can tell you if he has an LD or not. the same test I took can be used to detect other learning disabilities. in order to get a very clear diagnosis i went through testing and the person who diagnosed me talked to my gaurdians and my teachers. i hope this helps. if you have any questions email me at [email protected]

DO NOT give your child medication especially if he does not have an ADHD dx. Whether ADHD med have any therapeutic effect is still unclear but even if they do giving a “non ADHD” kid these meds for improved acedemic performance is not much different than giving him steriods to improve his athletic performance. It’s a bad idea and it is medically unethical.

No reputable doctor would give a patient a medication that patient does not require.

Jerry is on an anti-drug crusade for whatever personal reasons of his own. Personally I try to avoid taking drugs and giving them to my child, but I also admit that other people may sometimes have other needs. Please check the issues with doctors and nurses as well as with other parents who have experienced the same problems. Steve, who also prefers no to use drugs but who maintains an open mind about the issue, can give you very good practical advice.

I am not anti-drug per se but I am opposed to giving perfomance enhancing drugs to kids who have no medical need for them. I am merely adressing an issue but it would seem that Victoria wants to make it personal for some strange reason.

I am against giving dangerous, unproven and damaging drugs to children for a condition that may or may not exist. There are no objective tests that diagnose ADHD and so far there has been no organic cause identified for this so called disorder. There are many reasons that children exhibit the symptoms that are said to be ADHD. Until a cause for these symptoms is clearly identified I am against giving kids a drug that will permanentely damage the brain, heart and liver.

Victoria is wrong. I am not anti drug although I do believe along with most Americans that the drug companies are less than reputable when it comes to how they test, develop and market their products, especially the ones they push to kids.

Victoria, I would suggest from now on if you have a problem with me instead of sniping at me publicly be adult about it and simply send me a PM.

Hi, all!

I appreciate the compliment, Victoria, but I don’t know that I have anything to really add to this. We never went the medication route, and I have lots of experiences with alternative approaches, but I tend to avoid anything to do with testing or diagnosis, as I am very skeptical that it provides much more than a formalized version of someone’s opinion. I tend to focus on finding out what works. My biggest suggestion would be to look into alternative education in a more child-centered environment. I think most of the classrooms in America set expectations that are not developmentally appropriate for children to have to meet, and that our kids are the first to “fail” at these unreasonable expectations. Medications may make the child more able to submerge their impulses and do what is required of them, but that doesn’t mean they are “doing better” in terms of learning more or developing more fully. An alternative environment may give the child a chance to feel good about him/herself and to pursue learning at his/her own pace, rather than comparing him/her with the sacred average. So whether or not to test, and whether or not to be on medication for the test, is really sort of irrelevant to me. The question I would have is, what is to be accomplished with the test? Unless I really know that, I’m not sure what I’d say. But my real advice would be to stay away from the “testers” of the world and find someone who want to work on practical interventions that will help in the long run. I would certainly agree that giving stimulants for performance enhancement alone is inappropriate and counterproductive. I tend to be more in favor of taking a child from where they are and moving them on to the next step, rather than comparing them with some predetermined performance level and trying to make them match up with arbitrary expectations. My wife and I have had great success with that approach, and we never let our kids be diagnosed with anything. But we used homeschooling and alternative schools exclusively (even helped found a new charter school!) prior to middle school, which I think made a huge difference in how they perceive themselves.

Best I can do on short notice!

Here’s a link to the American Academy of Pediatrics site about diagnosing ADHD:

”. . ADHD — Making the Diagnosis

Your pediatrician will determine whether your child has Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) using standard guidelines developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. These diagnosis guidelines are for children 6 to 12 years of age.”

http://www.aap.org/pubed/ZZZY612KXSC.htm?&sub_cat=18

The following is the criteria used to diagnose ADHD. This comes from a silly book called the DSM IV. The DSM (Diagnostic and Statisical Manua) is used by psychologists and psychiatrists to make mental health diagnosis. Every few years some clowns from the APA (Ameican Psychiatirc Association) get together with their cohorts from big pharma and create new mental illnesses and expand diagnostic criteria to be even more inclusive.

Please read the following and see if you can think of one male child who doesn’t fit the DSM list of symptoms for ADHD. But wait that’s not all. The symptom list is going to be broadened more so that the drug companies can target girls and get them on Ritalin.

IMO the DSM criterion describe the symptoms of childhood.

I would also like to dispel another myth about stimulants and children. If a child is given a stimulant it will actually calm him down whether he is hyperactive or not. Because of the dependency on the drug when the drug is withdrawn the child seems even more hyper than he did before leading the parent to the false belief that the drug actually works.

Diagnostic Criteria for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

A. Either (1) or (2):

(1) six (or more) of the following symptoms of inattention have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental levels:

Inattention

* (A) Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities.
* (B) Often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities.
* (C) Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
* (D) Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behaviour or failure to understand instructions).
* (E) Often has difficulty organising tasks and activities
* (F) Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework).
* (G) Often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools).
* (H) Is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli.
* (I) Is often forgetful in daily activities.

2. six or more of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level:

Hyperactivity

* (A) often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat.
* (B) often leaves seat in classroom or in other situation in which remaining seated is expected.
* (C) often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate ( in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness)
* (D) often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly
* (E) is often “on the go” or often acts as if “driven by a motor”
* (F) often talks excessively.

Impulsivity

* (G) often blurts out answers before questions have been compleated.
* (H) often has difficulty awaiting turn.
* (I) often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., at school or work and at home).

B. Some hyperactive-impulsive or inattentive symptoms that caused impairment were present before age 7 years.

C. Some impairment from the symptoms is present in two or more settings (e.g., at school or work and at home).

D. There must be clear evidence of clinically significant impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning.

E. The symptoms do not occur exclusively during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorder and are not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., Mood Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Dissociative Disorder, or a Personality Disorder).

Anyway, I think the DSM criteria from a scientific point of view is quite laughable but what is not laughable is that kids are being put on dangerous drugs based on the self serving drivel in the DSM.